Departmental Public Participation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what  (a) listening exercises and  (b) public forums his Department has held in each of the last two years; what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost was in each case; and what the private contractor was and how much it was paid in each case.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office has undertaken two targeted and time-limited public consultations; one entitled "Scottish Parliament Elections May 2007: Ballot Paper Design, the other, Sorting the Ballot". The Office also participated in a joint consultation with the Ministry of Justice and the Wales Office on "Fees for the Marked Register of Electors produced at UK Elections". The Office has undertaken no listening exercises or public forums in the last two years.

Olympic Games 2012

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues in the last 12 months on securing benefits to Wales from the 2012 Olympic Games.

Paul Murphy: My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Huw Irranca-Davies) and I have had several discussions over the course of the last year with ministerial colleagues to highlight the world class facilities that Wales has to offer the 2012 Olympics.
	Wales has already developed an international reputation as a nation capable of hosting, and winning, successful major sporting events. The Australian Paralympic Committee's has expressed its intention of coming to Wales and Wales has secured Olympic football.
	The Olympic Delivery Authority and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games expect to directly procure £6 billion worth of contracts. The Government and the Welsh Assembly Government have actively encouraged small and medium-sized enterprises to register and compete for these contracts through the CompeteFor programme.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK nationals have been taken into custody following military operations as part of OP HERRICK in Afghanistan.

Des Browne: As I stated in the answer I gave on 9 June 2008,  Official Report, column 66W to the hon. Member for Chichester (Mr. Tyrie), the Ministry of Defence is undertaking a review of its detention records. I will write to the hon. Member when the review has completed.

Air Force: Training

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many non-commissioned officers in the RAF have achieved the National Examining Board for Supervision and Management Award at diploma level since 1998

Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Mr. Lidington:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 15 July 2008, (Official Report, column 299W) about the number of non-commissioned officers in the RAF who have achieved the National Examining Board for Supervision and management Award at diploma level since 1988.
	Since 2003, 5,273 RAF Non Commissioned Officers have attained professional qualifications, equivalent to a diploma, in Leadership and Management, accredited to the National Examining Board prior to 2005 and the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) thereafter. Information prior to 2003 is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	 Notes:
	RAF Halton offers ILM qualification, levels 2-5, broadly equivalent to BTEC First Diploma, BTEC National Diploma and Higher National Diplomas respectively.
	RAF Halton transferred its accreditation scheme from the National Examining Board to the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) in November 2005.
	The accreditation to ILM is broken down into 3 levels of qualification:
	a. AMLC Level 5 Award in Management
	b. IMLC Level 3 Award in First Line Management
	c. JMLC Level 2 Certificate in Team Leading
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces recruited in the last five years from  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland are on front-line duty in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: Information on recruitment to the armed forces by specific region is not held centrally. We could only provide the figures for the number of personnel on front-line duty in Iraq or Afghanistan broken down by their UK Unitary Authority at disproportionate cost.

BAE Systems

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much BAE received from his Department in each year since 1998.

Bob Ainsworth: MOD payments made to BAE Systems plc as a holding company, for the latest five years where complete data are available, are detailed in the following table. All MOD contract payments data refer to extant contracts in the financial year in question. All expenditure is VAT exclusive and expressed at current prices, rounded to the nearest £10 million.
	
		
			  MOD payments to BAE Systems plc (at holding company level) 
			  Financial year  £ million 
			 2003-04 2,360 
			 2004-05 2,450 
			 2005-06 2,440 
			 2006-07 2,730 
			 2007-08(1) 3,520 
			 (1) Please note figures for 2007-08 are provisional and subject to change. Final analysis will appear in "UK Defence Statistics 2008" due for publication on 24 September 2008. 
		
	
	The analysis is based on payments made by the MOD Financial Management Shared Service Centre and its predecessor which processes some 95 per cent. by value of all MOD payments to industry. It excludes, for example, payments made by the MOD Trading Funds and low-value local purchase transactions, for which records are not held centrally.
	Data on a comparable basis relating to the years before 2003-04 is not available because we did not then collate spend with all divisions of the BAE Systems corporate structure and we could not retrospectively do so other than at disproportionate cost.

RAF Halton

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel have received recruit training at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received basic trade training for supply, catering and administration roles at RAF Halton. Information is only available from financial year 2003-04.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Recruit training 
			 2003-04 3,271 
			 2004-05 1,556 
			 2005-06 957 
			 2006-07 1,075 
			 2007-08 2,149 
		
	
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to David Lidington:
	I answered a number of Parliamentary Questions you asked about training at RAF Halton on 14 July 2008 (Official Report, column 176W), 15 July 2008 (Official Report, column 312-3W) and 16 July 2008 (Official Report, column 450-1W). At that time information was not available prior to 2003-04 due to technical problems with a computer database. These technical problems have now been resolved and I am able to provide data for some of the missing years.
	For ease I have listed below each question and answer with the additional information in italics.
	Question Number 217590: how many armed forces personnel have received training from the Specialist Training School at RAF Halton for each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of courses delivered by the Specialist Training School (STS) at RAF Halton. I regret that data prior to Financial Year 2000-01 is not available.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Armed Forces Personnel 
			  2000-01  4,218 
			  2001-02  4,461 
			  2002-03  4,053 
			 2003-04 3,687 
			 2004-05 4,328 
			 2005-06 4,841 
			 2006-07 4,170 
			 2007-08 3,616 
		
	
	Question Number 217584: how many armed forces personnel have received basic trade training at RAF Halton for (a) supply roles, (b) catering and (c) administration roles in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received basic trade training for supply, catering and administration roles at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			   Trade 
			  Financial Year  Catering  Administration  Supply 
			  1998-99  41  164  144 
			  1999-2000  57  122  243 
			  2000-01  71  56  166 
			  2001-02  128  125  170 
			  2002-03  193  147  217 
			 2003-04 201 120 159 
			 2004-05 188 65 134 
			 2005-06 51 — 50 
			 2006-07 61 — 40 
			 2007-08 44 — 45 
		
	
	Question Number 217583: how many armed forces personnel have received recruit training at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received recruit training at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Recruit Training 
			  1998-99  3,342 
			  1999-2000  3,160 
			  2000-01  2,884 
			  2001-02  3,065 
			  2002-03  3,597 
			 2003-04 3,271 
			 2004-05 1,556 
			 2005-06 957 
			 2006-07 1,075 
			 2007-08 2,149 
			  Note: Training numbers for financial year 2007-08 includes figures for the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. 
		
	
	Question Number 217585: how many armed forces officers have received initial specialist officer training for (a) caterers and (b) administrators at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received initial specialist officer training at RAF Halton since 1998 in the categories requested.
	
		
			   Officer Specialisation 
			  Financial Year  Catering  Administration 
			  1998-99  4  91 
			  1999-2000  1  75 
			  2000-01  9  38 
			  2001-02  1  49 
			  2002-03  0  45 
			 2003-04 8 75 
			 2004-05 3 46 
			 2005-06 6 19 
			 2006-07 0 19 
			 2007-08 0 22 
		
	
	Question Number 217588: how many non-commissioned officers have taken the (a) junior management and leadership course, (b) intermediate management and leadership course and (c) advanced management and leadership course at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The following table gives the number of non-commissioned officers who have taken courses at RAF Halton in the categories requested, since 1998.
	
		
			  Course  Financial year  Number of officers 
			  Junior management and leadership course (Junior—on promotion to corporal)   
			   1998-99  1,179 
			   1999-2000  1,111 
			   2000-01  1,362 
			   2001-02  1,496 
			   2002-03  1,474 
			  2003-04 1,565 
			  2004-05 2,035 
			  2005-06 1,201 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2007-08 1,182 
			
			  Intermediate management and leadership course (Intermediate—on promotion to sergeant)   
			   1998-99  971 
			   1999-2000  802 
			   2000-01  888 
			   2001-02  898 
			   2002-03  515 
			  2003-04 974 
			  2004-05 1,521 
			  2005-06 903 
			  2006-07 812 
			  2007-08 875 
			
			  Advanced management and leadership course (Advanced—on promotion to flight sergeant)   
			   1998-99( 1)  — 
			   1999-2000  121 
			   2000-01  239 
			   2001-02  237 
			   2002-03  251 
			  2003-04 273 
			  2004-05 475 
			  2005-06 279 
			  2006-07 256 
			  2007-08 253 
			 (1) Course did not exist. 
		
	
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

RAF Halton

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel have received basic trade training at RAF Halton for  (a) supply roles,  (b) catering and  (c) administration roles in each year since 1998.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received basic trade training for supply, catering and administration roles at RAF Halton. Information is only available from financial year 2003-04.
	
		
			  Trade 
			   Catering  Administration  Supply 
			 2003-04 201 120 159 
			 2004-05 188 65 134 
			 2005-06 51 — 50 
			 2006-07 61 — 40 
			 2007-08 44 — 45 
		
	
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to David Lidington:
	I answered a number of Parliamentary Questions you asked about training at RAF Halton on 14 July 2008 (Official Report, column 176W), 15 July 2008 (Official Report, column 312-3W) and 16 July 2008 (Official Report, column 450-1W). At that time information was not available prior to 2003-04 due to technical problems with a computer database. These technical problems have now been resolved and I am able to provide data for some of the missing years.
	For ease I have listed below each question and answer with the additional information in italics.
	Question Number 217590: how many armed forces personnel have received training from the Specialist Training School at RAF Halton for each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of courses delivered by the Specialist Training School (STS) at RAF Halton. I regret that data prior to Financial Year 2000-01 is not available.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Armed Forces Personnel 
			  2000-01  4,218 
			  2001-02  4,461 
			  2002-03  4,053 
			 2003-04 3,687 
			 2004-05 4,328 
			 2005-06 4,841 
			 2006-07 4,170 
			 2007-08 3,616 
		
	
	Question Number 217584: how many armed forces personnel have received basic trade training at RAF Halton for (a) supply roles, (b) catering and (c) administration roles in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received basic trade training for supply, catering and administration roles at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			   Trade 
			  Financial Year  Catering  Administration  Supply 
			  1998-99  41  164  144 
			  1999-2000  57  122  243 
			  2000-01  71  56  166 
			  2001-02  128  125  170 
			  2002-03  193  147  217 
			 2003-04 201 120 159 
			 2004-05 188 65 134 
			 2005-06 51 — 50 
			 2006-07 61 — 40 
			 2007-08 44 — 45 
		
	
	Question Number 217583: how many armed forces personnel have received recruit training at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received recruit training at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Recruit Training 
			  1998-99  3,342 
			  1999-2000  3,160 
			  2000-01  2,884 
			  2001-02  3,065 
			  2002-03  3,597 
			 2003-04 3,271 
			 2004-05 1,556 
			 2005-06 957 
			 2006-07 1,075 
			 2007-08 2,149 
			  Note: Training numbers for financial year 2007-08 includes figures for the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. 
		
	
	Question Number 217585: how many armed forces officers have received initial specialist officer training for (a) caterers and (b) administrators at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received initial specialist officer training at RAF Halton since 1998 in the categories requested.
	
		
			   Officer Specialisation 
			  Financial Year  Catering  Administration 
			  1998-99  4  91 
			  1999-2000  1  75 
			  2000-01  9  38 
			  2001-02  1  49 
			  2002-03  0  45 
			 2003-04 8 75 
			 2004-05 3 46 
			 2005-06 6 19 
			 2006-07 0 19 
			 2007-08 0 22 
		
	
	Question Number 217588: how many non-commissioned officers have taken the (a) junior management and leadership course, (b) intermediate management and leadership course and (c) advanced management and leadership course at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The following table gives the number of non-commissioned officers who have taken courses at RAF Halton in the categories requested, since 1998.
	
		
			  Course  Financial year  Number of officers 
			  Junior management and leadership course (Junior—on promotion to corporal)   
			   1998-99  1,179 
			   1999-2000  1,111 
			   2000-01  1,362 
			   2001-02  1,496 
			   2002-03  1,474 
			  2003-04 1,565 
			  2004-05 2,035 
			  2005-06 1,201 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2007-08 1,182 
			
			  Intermediate management and leadership course (Intermediate—on promotion to sergeant)   
			   1998-99  971 
			   1999-2000  802 
			   2000-01  888 
			   2001-02  898 
			   2002-03  515 
			  2003-04 974 
			  2004-05 1,521 
			  2005-06 903 
			  2006-07 812 
			  2007-08 875 
			
			  Advanced management and leadership course (Advanced—on promotion to flight sergeant)   
			   1998-99( 1)  — 
			   1999-2000  121 
			   2000-01  239 
			   2001-02  237 
			   2002-03  251 
			  2003-04 273 
			  2004-05 475 
			  2005-06 279 
			  2006-07 256 
			  2007-08 253 
			 (1) Course did not exist. 
		
	
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

RAF Halton

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces officers have received initial specialist officer training for  (a) caterers and  (b) administrators at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received initial specialist officer training at RAF Halton in the categories requested. Information is available only from financial year 2003-04.
	
		
			   Officer specialisation 
			  Financial year  Catering  Administration 
			 2003-04 8 75 
			 2004-05 3 46 
			 2005-06 6 19 
			 2006-07 0 19 
			 2007-08 0 22 
		
	
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to David Lidington:
	I answered a number of Parliamentary Questions you asked about training at RAF Halton on 14 July 2008 (Official Report, column 176W), 15 July 2008 (Official Report, column 312-3W) and 16 July 2008 (Official Report, column 450-1W). At that time information was not available prior to 2003-04 due to technical problems with a computer database. These technical problems have now been resolved and I am able to provide data for some of the missing years.
	For ease I have listed below each question and answer with the additional information in italics.
	Question Number 217590: how many armed forces personnel have received training from the Specialist Training School at RAF Halton for each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of courses delivered by the Specialist Training School (STS) at RAF Halton. I regret that data prior to Financial Year 2000-01 is not available.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Armed Forces Personnel 
			  2000-01  4,218 
			  2001-02  4,461 
			  2002-03  4,053 
			 2003-04 3,687 
			 2004-05 4,328 
			 2005-06 4,841 
			 2006-07 4,170 
			 2007-08 3,616 
		
	
	Question Number 217584: how many armed forces personnel have received basic trade training at RAF Halton for (a) supply roles, (b) catering and (c) administration roles in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received basic trade training for supply, catering and administration roles at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			   Trade 
			  Financial Year  Catering  Administration  Supply 
			  1998-99  41  164  144 
			  1999-2000  57  122  243 
			  2000-01  71  56  166 
			  2001-02  128  125  170 
			  2002-03  193  147  217 
			 2003-04 201 120 159 
			 2004-05 188 65 134 
			 2005-06 51 — 50 
			 2006-07 61 — 40 
			 2007-08 44 — 45 
		
	
	Question Number 217583: how many armed forces personnel have received recruit training at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received recruit training at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Recruit Training 
			  1998-99  3,342 
			  1999-2000  3,160 
			  2000-01  2,884 
			  2001-02  3,065 
			  2002-03  3,597 
			 2003-04 3,271 
			 2004-05 1,556 
			 2005-06 957 
			 2006-07 1,075 
			 2007-08 2,149 
			  Note: Training numbers for financial year 2007-08 includes figures for the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. 
		
	
	Question Number 217585: how many armed forces officers have received initial specialist officer training for (a) caterers and (b) administrators at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received initial specialist officer training at RAF Halton since 1998 in the categories requested.
	
		
			   Officer Specialisation 
			  Financial Year  Catering  Administration 
			  1998-99  4  91 
			  1999-2000  1  75 
			  2000-01  9  38 
			  2001-02  1  49 
			  2002-03  0  45 
			 2003-04 8 75 
			 2004-05 3 46 
			 2005-06 6 19 
			 2006-07 0 19 
			 2007-08 0 22 
		
	
	Question Number 217588: how many non-commissioned officers have taken the (a) junior management and leadership course, (b) intermediate management and leadership course and (c) advanced management and leadership course at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The following table gives the number of non-commissioned officers who have taken courses at RAF Halton in the categories requested, since 1998.
	
		
			  Course  Financial year  Number of officers 
			  Junior management and leadership course (Junior—on promotion to corporal)   
			   1998-99  1,179 
			   1999-2000  1,111 
			   2000-01  1,362 
			   2001-02  1,496 
			   2002-03  1,474 
			  2003-04 1,565 
			  2004-05 2,035 
			  2005-06 1,201 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2007-08 1,182 
			
			  Intermediate management and leadership course (Intermediate—on promotion to sergeant)   
			   1998-99  971 
			   1999-2000  802 
			   2000-01  888 
			   2001-02  898 
			   2002-03  515 
			  2003-04 974 
			  2004-05 1,521 
			  2005-06 903 
			  2006-07 812 
			  2007-08 875 
			
			  Advanced management and leadership course (Advanced—on promotion to flight sergeant)   
			   1998-99( 1)  — 
			   1999-2000  121 
			   2000-01  239 
			   2001-02  237 
			   2002-03  251 
			  2003-04 273 
			  2004-05 475 
			  2005-06 279 
			  2006-07 256 
			  2007-08 253 
			 (1) Course did not exist. 
		
	
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

RAF Halton

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many non-commissioned officers have taken the  (a) junior management and leadership course,  (b) intermediate management and leadership course and  (c) advanced management and leadership course at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table gives the number of non-commissioned officers who have taken courses at RAF Halton in the areas requested, from financial year 2003-04 to present.
	
		
			  Course  Financial year  Number of officers 
			  Junior management and leadership course (Junior - on promotion to corporal) 2003-04 1,565 
			  2004-05 2,035 
			  2005-06 1,201 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2007-08 1,182 
			  Intermediate management and leadership course (Intermediate—on promotion to sergeant) 2003-04 974 
			  2004-05 1,521 
			  2005-06 903 
			  2006-07 812 
			  2007-08 875 
			  Advanced management and leadership course (Advanced—on promotion to flight sergeant) 2003-04 273 
			  2004-05 475 
			  2005-06 279 
			  2006-07 256 
			  2007-08 253 
		
	
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to David Lidington:
	I answered a number of Parliamentary Questions you asked about training at RAF Halton on 14 July 2008 (Official Report, column 176W), 15 July 2008 (Official Report, column 312-3W) and 16 July 2008 (Official Report, column 450-1W). At that time information was not available prior to 2003-04 due to technical problems with a computer database. These technical problems have now been resolved and I am able to provide data for some of the missing years.
	For ease I have listed below each question and answer with the additional information in bold.
	Question Number 217590: how many armed forces personnel have received training from the Specialist Training School at RAF Halton for each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of courses delivered by the Specialist Training School (STS) at RAF Halton. I regret that data prior to Financial Year 2000-01 is not available.
	
		
			  Financial year  Armed forces personnel 
			  2000-01  4,218 
			  2001-02  4,461 
			  2002-03  4,053 
			 2003-04 3,687 
			 2004-05 4,328 
			 2005-06 4,841 
			 2006-07 4,170 
			 2007-06 3,616 
		
	
	Question Number 217584: how many armed forces personnel have received basic trade training at RAF Halton for (a) supply roles, (b) catering and (c) administration roles in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received basic trade training for supply, catering and administration roles at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			   Trade 
			  Financial y ear  Catering  Administration  Supply 
			  1998-99  41  164  144 
			  1999-2000  57  122  243 
			  2000-01  71  56  166 
			  2001-02  128  125  170 
			  2002-03  193  147  217 
			 2003-04 201 120 159 
			 2004-05 188 65 134 
			 2005-06 51 — 50 
			 2006-07 61 — 40 
			 2007-08 44 — 45 
		
	
	Question Number 217583: how many armed forces personnel have received recruit training at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received recruit training at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			  Financial year  Recruit training 
			  1998-99  3,342 
			  1999-2000  3,160 
			  2000-01  2,884 
			  2001-02  3,065 
			  2002-03  3,597 
			 2003-04 3,271 
			 2004-05 1,556 
			 2005-06 957 
			 2006-07 1,075 
			 2007-08 2,149 
			  Note: Training numbers for financial year 2007-08 includes figures for the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. 
		
	
	Question Number 217585: how many armed forces officers have received initial specialist officer training for (a) caterers and (b) administrators at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received initial specialist officer training at RAF Halton since 1998 in the categories requested.
	
		
			   Officer specialisation 
			  Financial year  Catering  Administration 
			  1998-99  4  91 
			  1999-2000  1  75 
			  2000-01  9  38 
			  2001-02  1  49 
			  2002-03  0  45 
			 2003-04 8 75 
			 2004-05 3 46 
			 2005-06 6 19 
			 2006-07 0 19 
			 2007-08 0 22 
		
	
	Question Number 217588: how many non-commissioned officers have taken the (a) junior management and leadership course, (b) intermediate management and leadership course and (c) advanced management and leadership course at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The following table gives the number of non-commissioned officers who have taken courses at RAF Halton in the categories requested, since 1998.
	
		
			  Course  Financial year  Number of officers 
			  Junior management and leadership course (Junior—on promotion to corporal)   
			   1998-99  1,179 
			   1999-2000  1,111 
			   2000-01  1,362 
			   2001-02  1,496 
			   2002-03  1,474 
			  2003-04 1,565 
			  2004-05 2,035 
			  2005-06 1,201 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2007-08 1,182 
			
			  Intermediate management and leadership course (Intermediate—on promotion to sergeant)   
			   1998-99  971 
			   1999-2000  802 
			   2000-01  888 
			   2001-02  898 
			   2002-03  515 
			  2003-04 974 
			  2004-05 1,521 
			  2005-06 903 
			  2006-07 812 
			  2007-08 875 
			
			  Advanced management and leadership course (Advanced—on promotion to flight sergeant)   
			   1998-99( 1)  — 
			   1999-2000  121 
			   2000-01  239 
			   2001-02  237 
			   2002-03  251 
			  2003-04 273 
			  2004-05 475 
			  2005-06 279 
			  2006-07 256 
			  2007-08 253 
			 (1) Course did not exist. 
		
	
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

RAF Halton

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel have received training from the Specialist Training School at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table gives the number of the courses delivered by the Specialist Training School (STS) at RAF Halton. Information is only available from financial year 2003-04.
	
		
			  Financial year  Armed forces personnel 
			 2003-04 3,687 
			 2004-05 4,328 
			 2005-06 4,841 
			 2006-07 4,170 
			 2007-08 3,616 
		
	
	The figures exclude the 'road shows' training delivered by STS staff away from RAF Halton, as no nominal rolls are taken at these events.
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to David Lidington:
	I answered a number of Parliamentary Questions you asked about training at RAF Halton on 14 July 2008 (Official Report, column 176W), 15 July 2008 (Official Report, column 312-3W) and 16 July 2008 (Official Report, column 450-1W). At that time information was not available prior to 2003-04 due to technical problems with a computer database. These technical problems have now been resolved and I am able to provide data for some of the missing years.
	For ease I have listed below each question and answer with the additional information in bold.
	Question Number 217590 how many armed forces personnel have received training from the Specialist Training School at RAF Halton for each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of courses delivered by the Specialist Training School (STS) at RAF Halton. I regret that data prior to Financial Year 2000-01 is not available.
	
		
			  Financial year  Armed forces personnel 
			  2000-01  4,218 
			  2001-02  4,461 
			  2002-03  4,053 
			 2003-04 3,687 
			 2004-05 4,328 
			 2005-06 4,841 
			 2006-07 4,170 
			 2007-08 3,616 
		
	
	Question Number 217584: how many armed forces personnel have received basic trade training at RAF Halton for (a) supply roles, (b) catering and (c) administration roles in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received basic trade training for supply, catering and administration roles at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			   Trade 
			  Financial year  Catering  Administration  Supply 
			  1998-99  41  1 64  144 
			  1999-2000  57  1 22  243 
			  2000-01  71  5 6  166 
			  2001-02  128  1 25  170 
			  2002-03  193  1 47  217 
			 2003-04 201 120 159 
			 2004-05 188 65 134 
			 2005-06 51 — 50 
			 2006-07 61 — 40 
			 2007-08 44 — 45 
		
	
	Question Number 217583: how many armed forces personnel have received recruit training at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received recruit training at RAF Halton since 1998.
	
		
			  Financial year  Recruit training 
			  1998-99  3,342 
			  1999-2000  3,160 
			  2000-01  2,884 
			  2001-02  3,065 
			  2002-03  3,597 
			 2003-04 3,271 
			 2004-05 1,556 
			 2005-06 957 
			 2006-07 1,075 
			 2007-08 2,149 
			  Note: Training numbers for financial year 2007-08 includes figures for the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. 
		
	
	Question Number 217585: how many armed forces officers have received initial specialist officer training for (a) caterers and (b) administrators at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The table below gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received initial specialist officer training at RAF Halton since 1998 in the categories requested.
	
		
			   Officer specialisation 
			  Financial year  Catering  Administration 
			  1998-99  4  91 
			  1999-2000  1  75 
			  2000-01  9  38 
			  2001-02  1  49 
			  2002-03  0  45 
			 2003-04 8 75 
			 2004-05 3 46 
			 2005-06 6 19 
			 2006-07 0 19 
			 2007-08 0 22 
		
	
	Question Number 217588: how many non-commissioned officers have taken the (a) junior management and leadership course, (b) intermediate management and leadership course and (c) advanced management and leadership course at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.
	The following table gives the number of non-commissioned officers who have taken courses at RAF Halton in the categories requested, since 1998.
	
		
			  Course  Financial year  Number of officers 
			  Junior management and leadership course (Junior—on promotion to corporal)   
			   1998-99  1,179 
			   1999-2000  1,111 
			   2000-01  1,362 
			   2001-02  1,496 
			   2002-03  1,474 
			  2003-04 1,565 
			  2004-05 2,035 
			  2005-06 1,201 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2006-07 1,210 
			  2007-08 1,182 
			
			  Intermediate management and leadership course (Intermediate—on promotion to sergeant)   
			   1998-99  971 
			   1999-2000  802 
			   2000-01  888 
			   2001-02  898 
			   2002-03  515 
			  2003-04 974 
			  2004-05 1,521 
			  2005-06 903 
			  2006-07 812 
			  2007-08 875 
			
			  Advanced management and leadership course (Advanced—on promotion to flight sergeant)   
			   1998-99( 1)  — 
			   1999-2000  121 
			   2000-01  239 
			   2001-02  237 
			   2002-03  251 
			  2003-04 273 
			  2004-05 475 
			  2005-06 279 
			  2006-07 256 
			  2007-08 253 
			 (1) Course did not exist. 
		
	
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

RAF Halton

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) RAF personnel have received training at RAF Halton in each year since 1998.

Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Mr. Lidington:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 15 July 2008, (Official Report, column 314W) about training at RAF Halton.
	This information relating to the number of Service Personnel who received any training at RAF Halton in each year since 2000 is set out below.
	Information prior to Financial Year 2000-01 is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Royal Navy  Army  RAF  Tri-service 
			 2000-01 139 847 10,918 — 
			 2001-02 100 657 10,818 — 
			 2002-03 94 744 10,848 — 
			 2003-04 101 749 10,893 — 
			 2004-05 292 1,437 10,970 — 
			 2005-06 232 1,173 7,990 — 
			 2006-07 184 813 5,934 1,994 
			 2007-08 151 863 6,813 2,604 
			  Notes: The downturn in RAF numbers receiving training from 2004-05 onwards was due to drawdown measures taken by the RAF to reach its reduced target strength of 41,000 and was part of the Government's spending review. For some training courses it has not been possible to differentiate between the actual numbers attending for each service; in this case the total number appears as tri-service. 
		
	
	In addition to the data supplied above, Defence Dental Services (DDS) training at RAF Halton is shown separately in the table below. Data for DDS prior to 2003 is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Royal Navy  Army  RAF 
			 2003-04 21 77 21 
			 2004-05 32 98 65 
			 2005-06 24 79 28 
			 2006-07 32 76 27 
			 2007-08 30 95 28 
		
	
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Taliban

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of members of the Taleban who were  (a) killed and  (b) captured in each of the last 24 months.

Des Browne: Regarding the number of Taliban killed in Afghanistan, I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on 6 May 2008,  Official Report, column 832W, to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell).
	As regards detention, I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 9 June 2008,  Official Report, column 66W, to the hon. Member for Chichester (Mr. Tyrie).
	The Ministry of Defence is undertaking a review of its detention records and I will write to the hon. Member when the review has been completed.

Population

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the Office of National Statistics' (ONS) most recent projections of population densities in  (a) the United Kingdom,  (b) England,  (c) Scotland,  (d) Wales and  (e) Northern Ireland in (i) 2031, (ii) 2056 and (iii) the most distant date for which figures are available are; what population density in each such area is in 2008; and what recent comparison the ONS has made of population density in the UK and other EU member states.

Phil Hope: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 10 September 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what the most recent projections of population densities in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland are for (i) 2031, (ii) 2056 and (iii) the most distant date for which figures are available; what population density in each such area is in 2008; and what recent comparison the ONS has made of population density in the UK and other member states (223149).
	Population densities for the UK and constituent countries for 2008 are provided in table A. The population densities for the other years requested have not been updated since my previous responses to PQs 169303 (3 December 2007), 177466 (18 February 2008), 205787 (19 May 2008) and 207695 (2 June 2008).
	
		
			  Table A: Projected population density of the UK and constituent countries, 2008 
			   Persons/sq km 
			   2008 
			 United Kingdom 253 
			 England 395 
			 Wales 144 
			 Scotland 66 
			 Northern Ireland 131 
			  Source: 2006-based national projections, ONS 
		
	
	There has been no recent update of the population densities of the EU member states. Therefore the most recent such figures are as calculated by the UN and provided in my reply to the PQ dated 3 December 2007 mentioned above (169303).
	As previously advised in my replies to the earlier PQs from you, the underlying assumptions for the projections are demographic trend based and should not be seen as predictions.

Africa: Conflict Prevention

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has allocated to the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool in 2007-08; and what programmes that funding will support.

Gillian Merron: In 2007-08 £64.5 million was allocated to the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool (ACPP). The ACPP overall approach to conflict prevention in Africa is focused on three broad objectives:
	To support the building of African conflict management capacity.
	To assist with conflict prevention, management and post-conflict reconstruction in a number of priority sub-regions and country conflicts.
	To support pan-African initiatives for security sector reform, small arms control and to address the economic and financial causes of conflict.
	The following table shows a breakdown of sector of activities supported in 2007-08 and how much of the budget was spent on each:
	
		
			  Sector of activity  Percentage of Spend 
			 Reform of the Security Sector, including reform of the army, police and justice sector 37 
			 Peace Support Operations Training for African troop contributing countries participating in peacekeeping operations 22 
			 Peace Building—including support to grassroots peace initiatives, conflict prevention, and support to civil society 22 
			 Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration of ex-combatants 12 
			 Control and disposal of Small Arms and Light Weapons 3 
			 Support to Peace Negotiations 2 
			 Peace media: radio, television and print, outreach, awareness raising 1 
			 Development of the African Union's Africa Peace Support Architecture 1 
			 Conflict Analysis <1 
		
	
	Ninety four projects were implemented by ACPP in 2007-08. Detailed information will be available in the forthcoming annual report which will be published in August 2008. Highlights from ACPP work in 2007/8 include:
	Supporting Kofi Annan to lead African mediation efforts to end the post-election violence in Kenya following the disputed presidential elections of December 2007.
	Training some 12,000 African peacekeepers since 2004-05.
	Enabling the demobilisation of almost 300,000 combatants in the past five years in seven Central African countries(1) through support to the World Bank led Multi-country Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme.
	Assisting the peace processes in Northern Uganda, Eastern DRC and Burundi which have helped lead to significant reduction in conflict in the region.
	Fighting against sexual violence by working with the Rwandan armed forces to provide channels for reporting and acting on incidents.
	Ensuring that rural voters had access to independent information on electoral choices in the March 2008 parliamentary and presidential elections in Zimbabwe.
	Supporting the South African National Defence Force to open a peace mission training centre, providing a facility for both civilian and military personnel deploying on peace support missions.
	Providing professional advice to the Sudan People's Liberation Army to enable transformation from a guerrilla army into a professional, disciplined armed force operating under democratic civil control.
	Successfully mounting a highly visible 'Red Band' campaign against electoral violence around elections in Nigeria in April 2007.
	Helping to ensure a safe and peaceful electoral process Sierra Leone in 2007 by supporting the armed forces in remaining apolitical throughout the election process.
	(1 )Angola, Burundi, CAR, DRC, Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda

Children: Employment

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the United Nations in relation to child labour and children working in  (a) heavy industry,  (b) aluminium factories,  (c) mining and  (d) textile and clothing manufacturing.

Shahid Malik: The Secretary of State has not had direct discussions with the United Nations on the subject of child labour. The Department for International Development (DFID) relies on, and provides support to, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) within the UN system to help countries implement core labour standards that include the elimination of child labour. DFID is also working with the ILO and civil society organisations to promote efforts to remove children from all hazardous labour. DFID has a 20 million partnership framework for 2006-2009 with the ILO.
	DFID has no direct involvement with issues of child labour in heavy industries  (a) or aluminium factories  (b). With regard to mining  (c), DFID supports and currently chairs the Communities and Small scale Mining (CASM) initiative. This is a network that includes mining communities and artisanal miners themselves as well as international experts. The network is based in the World Bank HQ in Washington DC and is active in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and South and Central America. As one of the four central themes of its work, Communities and Small-scale Mining (CASM) includes a focus on children working in dangerous and hazardous conditions in small-scale mining. CASM fully recognizes the extent and nature of child labour and is committed to its elimination from the mining industry.
	In textile and clothing manufacturing (d), DFID is supporting the Multi Fibre Arrangement Forum which brings together private sector (multi-national corporations and domestic industries) trade unions, national governments to support developing countries to adapt and benefit from changes in global trading regimes, developing productivity and responsible competitiveness, sustaining and promoting decent work, which includes not using child labour.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) type and  (b) level of support is being given to the Democratic Republic of Congo by his Department to support the  (a) humanitarian action plan,  (b) the 2007 International Committee of the Red Cross national appeal and  (c) non-governmental organisation programmes in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) is one of the largest humanitarian donors to the Democratic Republic of Congo with over 37.5 million pounds provided in support of the 2007 Humanitarian Action Plan (approximately 10 per cent. of the 361 million ($686 million) Plan). DFID provided 30 million of this funding through the Humanitarian Pooled Fund, managed by the United Nations (UN), which funds priority humanitarian interventions by UN agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). In 2007, approximately 50 per cent. of the Pooled Fund was channelled directly or indirectly through NGOs. Our remaining funding under the Humanitarian Action Plan (7.5 million) was provided as direct grants of 2 million to the 2007 International Committee of the Red Cross appeal and 5.5 million to NGOs.
	In 2007, DFID provided 13.7 million of support through grants to NGO programmes working in non-humanitarian sectors in DRC. In total DFID provided 19.2 million of direct grants to NGOs in 2007.
	Summary:
	
		
			   Type  Level of funding (2007) ( million) 
			 Humanitarian Action Plan (HAP) Contribution to UN Pooled Fund 30 
			  Direct grants to NGOs 5.5 
			  Direct grant to ICRC 2 
			 DFID funding to NGOs working in non-humanitarian sectors Direct grants for governance, education, health, HIV/AIDS and peace building 13.7 
			 (1 )of which 50 per cent. went directly or indirectly to NGOs

Departmental Retirement

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the standard retirement age in his Department is; and how many people worked beyond the standard retirement age in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) continues to observe the national default retirement age of 65.
	Since the implementation of the Employment Equality (age) Regulations in October 2006, six requests to work beyond the default retirement age have been approved. Line managers are advised by the human resources department of staff approaching 65 years of age in time to implement the right to request procedure. To date no requests have been denied.
	The number of staff working beyond the retirement age in each of the last five years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of staff working beyond retirement age 
			 2003 5 
			 2004 4 
			 2005 3 
			 2006 4 
			 2007 5 
		
	
	Records are not held centrally of staff appointed in country in our overseas offices who work beyond the age of 65 as they are subject to local rather than UK law on retirement age.
	The impact of the age regulations continue to be monitored, particularly the right to request working beyond the age of 65, in preparation for the review of the planned for 2011.

United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what topics are on the agenda for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals summit on 25 September; who will represent the Government at the summit; what goals the Government has set for this summit; by what criteria the outcomes of the summit will be judged by the Government; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The UN Secretary General will issue a paper shortly for the UN High Level Event on the millennium development goals (MDGs). The overall aim of the meeting is to help galvanise international activity to get the MDGs back on track. The event will include round tables on Poverty and Hunger; Education and Health; and Environmental Sustainability along with a wide range of partnership events on key issues related to the MDGs.
	The Prime Minister plans to lead UK representation at the UN High Level Event, supported by myself and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Gareth Thomas.
	The UK Government would like to see an action-oriented plan emerging from the High Level Event, with specific deliverables, particularly on education, malaria, health systems and food security. As part of this the UK Government would also like to see the pledging of new financial commitments, including from new donors.
	We will judge the outcomes of the UN High Level Event based on the UN Secretary General's letter of 17 July in which he stated the main objectives as reviewing progress and taking stock of the existing gaps at mid-point in the global effort to achieve the MDGs by 2015; help identify concrete actions needed to scale up effort; and help ensure the MDGs and international targets remain on track and momentum is maintained beyond 2008.

Children in Care: Clinical Trials

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2008,  Official Report, column 559W, on clinical trials, what the certain conditions are which must be met for minors to be allowed to be entered into a trial prior to consent having been obtained from a person with parental responsibility or a legal representative.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	On 1 May 2008 the Government, following a public consultation, amended The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 ('the Clinical Trials Regulations') to provide an exception to the general requirement that informed consent must be obtained from a minor's (a person under 16 years) parents or legal representative prior to his/her participation in a trial. Informed consent would still be a requirement of participation in the trial; but its absence would not preclude initial entry into a trial.
	The specific conditions that apply in relation to a minor's participation in a clinical trial are set out in Part 4 of Schedule 1 of the Clinical Trials Regulations. Conditions 1 to 5 of the Clinical Trials Regulations outline requirements for obtaining informed consent prior to initial entry into a trial. Conditions 6-12 provide safeguards to ensure that the wishes of the minor are considered and there is an appropriate basis for the trial and its financial compensation. The amendments to the Clinical Trials Regulations, made in May 2008, provide an exception to the general requirement that conditions 1 to 5 are met before entry into a trial.
	This exception is subject to the following:  (a) treatment is being, or is about to be, provided for a subject who is a minor as a matter of urgency and, having regard to the nature of the clinical trial and of the particular circumstances of the case,  (b) it is necessary to take action for the purposes of the clinical trial as a matter of urgency; but  (c) it is not reasonably practicable to meet conditions (1) to (5) of the Clinical Trials Regulations and  (d) the conditions specified in  (a) to  (c) above are carried out in accordance with a procedure approved by an ethics committee with paediatric expertise or in the case of an ethics committee opinion appeal, by an appeal panel. The exception only applies until it is reasonably practicable to obtain informed consent from a person with parental responsibility or legal representative, at which time conditions (1) to, (5) must be met.
	The exception is consistent with the position adopted by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guideline on Good Clinical Practice.

Departmental Inquiries

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what independent inquiries have been commissioned by his Department in the last five years; what the  (a) purpose and  (b) cost was of each; and what steps were taken following each.

Kevin Brennan: The DCSF has been in existence since 28 June 2007, and since that time has commissioned two independent inquiries. Both of these are currently underway and it is not possible to fully cost these until they complete.
	 (1) The Lamb Inquiry: Special educational needs and parental confidence
	The Lamb Inquiry was established as part of the Government's response to the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee Report Special Educational Needs: Assessment and Funding. The Lamb Inquiry, under the chairmanship of Brian Lamb, the Chair of the Special Educational Consortium, will investigate a range of ways in which parental confidence in the SEN assessment process might be improved. The inquiry started its work in March 2008 and Brian Lamb will report in September 2009.
	 (2) The Sutherland InquiryInquiry into 2008 national curriculum test delivery
	The Sutherland Inquiry has been established because of problems that have arisen in the delivery of Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 national curriculum tests in 2008, leading to a delay in the release of results to schools. The inquiry will be led by Stewart Sutherland (Lord Sutherland of Houndwood), who will investigate what went wrong, the reasons for the problems experienced and what should be done to avoid a recurrence in future years. The inquiry was announced in July 2008 and Lord Sutherland will report to me and Ofqual in the Autumn of 2008.

Departmental Sick Leave

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in  (a) his Department and its predecessor and  (b) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility who gave (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders as the reason for their absence was in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in  (a) the Department is 27 days due to stress and 35 days due to mental and behavioural disorders. The Department was set up as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007, so the figures apply from 1 July to 31 March 2008 only (the latest information available). Different recording systems were used in the predecessor Departments, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) over the past 10 years, so it is not possible to provide direct comparisons.
	These figures do not include  (b) non-departmental public bodies as the information for them is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department is committed to providing a safe working environment and has a range of measures in place to support managers and employees on health and well-being issues.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the performance of Liberata in administration of the education maintenance allowance.

Jim Knight: The Learning and Skills Council have operational responsibility for the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and has contracted with Liberata to carry out the helpline, assessment and payment function for EMA.
	There have been some unacceptable delays in notifying learners that they are eligible for EMA this year. My officials are receiving daily updates from the LSC and I am monitoring the situation very closely. My priority is to ensure that young people receive their EMA as soon as possible.
	The LSC have assured me that they are working very closely with Liberata to ensure that the backlog is cleared quickly. All eligible learners who apply within 28 days of the start of their course will get all the payments for which they are eligible, even if the processing of their application form is delayed.

Education: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of the money paid to the ETS to administer the marking of the national standard assessment tests has been repaid; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The total paid to ETS to administer the marking of the national standard assessment tests was 34,971,060.65, of which 19,500,000.00 has been returned. This represents 55.8 per cent. of the total money paid to ETS.
	In addition, the total value of amounts invoiced by ETS but unpaid and cancelled as part of the agreement is 3,400,000. The estimate of remaining contracted cycle 1 costs uninvoiced and cancelled as part of agreement is approximately 1,200,000. This gives a total of cancelled outstanding and anticipated invoices of 4,600,000.

Government Communications

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies (i) are classified as Government communicators and (ii) have access to the Government Communication Network.

Kevin Brennan: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Department for Children Schools and Families central Communications Directorate has 85.9 staff classified as Government communicators. Across the Department other civil servants may have communication as a core part of their role as good communication is integral to help implement Government policy.
	(b) The Department do not have any agencies.
	(c) All civil servants who work in a communication role can access the Government Communications Network (GCN) and the resources that it provides.

Health Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government has taken to promote healthy living in schools and family homes.

Kevin Brennan: Promoting healthy living within families and in other children's settings such as schools is a priority for the Government.
	The roll out of Sure Start children's centres, which provide access to services, including health services and advice on staying healthy in pregnancy and early childhood, for families with young children continues. There are now 2,900 children's centres with 3,500 planned for 2010, one for every community.
	Our guidance for schools on their duty to promote pupil well-being, issued for consultation on 3 July, makes clear that schools have a key role to play in encouraging pupils to adopt healthy lifestyles and encourage healthy eating. In particular, the Government are promoting healthy lifestyles to children and young people through the national healthy schools programme. The programme uses a whole school/whole child approach to health. Schools achieving healthy schools status have to satisfy criteria under four core themes: Physical Activity; Healthy Eating; Personal, Social, Health and Economics education; and Emotional Health and Well-Being. Currently, 65 per cent. of schools have achieved healthy schools status and in total nine out of 10 schools are participating in this voluntary programme.
	As the initial step in achieving our new ambition of being the first major nation to reverse the rising tide of obesity, in January 2008, the Government published Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A Cross-Government Strategy for England. Through this comprehensive strategy we aim to enable everyone to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Everyone has a part to play and the strategy sets out a vision of what this means for schools, the food industry, employers, health services, local authorities and central Government to play their part in helping children, young people and their families to make healthy choices in food and physical activity. The initial focus is on children, by 2020 the Government aim to reduce the proportion of overweight and obese children to 2000 levels.
	Fulfilling an important commitment in Healthy Weight Healthy Lives, in March 2008 we published the updated Child Health Promotion Programme. This sets out the schedule of services to be offered to all families with young children and includes a range of health promotion topics to be raised with families such as safety in the home, nutrition, physical activity and smoking.
	Another strong contribution to Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives is being made by the National PE and Sport Strategy for Young People. Already, 86 per cent. of school pupils are engaged in two hours of high quality PE and sport per week. Following the Prime Minister's announcement in July 2007, we have an increased focus on engaging all children and young people in PE and sport with an ambition of providing up to five hours of PE and sport a week for all five to 16-year-olds, and three hours for young people aged 16-19. This ambition includes a drive to secure full participation in at least two hours of PE or sport as part of the working school day, combined with effective signposting to further physical activity opportunities outside of school.
	From 31 July we are moving from piloting parent support advisers in 20 local authorities to national expansion. These advisers have been working with parents to improve children's behaviour and school attendance, offering advice with parenting, and providing support for families at the first sign a child or young person may be experiencing behavioural or emotional issues. In many cases they may be the first point of contact between parents and schools and where health issues are raised they are well placed to refer parents to the relevant specialist agencies.
	In addition we are:
	expanding the Family Nurse Partnership programme, in which health visitors provide intensive home visiting for vulnerable first time young parents, working with them from early pregnancy until the child is two years old, is being expanded from 10 to 30 sites across the country; and
	putting in place a proper dining culture in schools so that eating a healthy lunch is seen as normal by young peopleparticularly the 230,000 children eligible for, but not claiming, free school meals. Over three million children are now eating school dinners dailyan increase of around 50,000 extra pupils over last year.
	In the autumn we will set out our strategy to further improve health outcomes for children and young people over the next 10 years.

Parents: Alcoholism

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the impact of alcohol dependency of one or both parents on family income; and what steps his Department is taking to protect the welfare of children in such circumstances.

Kevin Brennan: Department for Work and Pensions research on Public Attitudes to Child Poverty indicates an association between poverty and substance misuse that affects a very small minority of children. 4 per cent. of lone parents have alcohol dependency and 2 per cent. drug dependency and the respective figures for couples with children are 3 per cent. and 1 per cent. This is compared to the 22 per cent. of children living in poverty due to other factors.
	The Government do not annually record the number of young people affected by parental alcohol misuse. However, the Interim Analytical report produced for the 2004, Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England by the Prime Ministers Strategy Unit estimates that between 780,000 and 1.3 million children are affected by parental alcohol problems. The Government recognise that parental alcohol misuse is a serious problem in the family and has negative effects on a child's life chances. This is why my Department is investing in targeted services for those families at risk that will help to reduce the risk of dependency on alcohol and break the cycle of problems being transferred between generations.
	The drug strategy, Drugs: Protecting Families and Communities, published in February 2008, identified families as a key priority and highlighted the need for support to prevent future problems for children. This proposed a programme of intensive support services to reach the most chaotic families through programmes, such as the Family Interventions Project and Family Pathfinders, to develop local systems and services that improve outcomes for families at risk. We are committing to further evaluating a number of programmes to better gauge their impact on reducing alcohol problems.

Training and Development Agency for Schools: Manpower

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of the staffing costs of the Training and Development Agency for Schools were spent on temporary staff in 2007-08.

Jim Knight: As shown on page 53, note 6(b) of the 2007-08 accounts, the TDA staff numbers in 2007-08 totalled 334 (2006-07 = 308), of this 45 were temporary employees (2006-07 = 22). The total permanent employed and temporary staff costs for the year were:
	
		
			  Temporary staff cost percentage 
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			 Non temporary staff ( million) 12.8 13.1 
			 Temporary staff ( million) 1.2 2.3 
			 Temporary staff (percentage) 9 15 
		
	
	The increase in the number of temporary staff in 2007-08 compared to 2006-07 is due to a large number of new programmes that started in year.

Essex Police Authority: Data Protection

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people of each grade employed by her Department have  (a) partial and  (b) full access to data held by Essex Police Authority; what guidance her Department issues to persons seeking access to this data; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Staff in the Home Office Policing Statistics Group responsible for statistical data analysis have partial access to data held by the Essex police force rather than the Essex Police Authority as part of their responsibilities. Every police force in England and Wales is required to routinely submit statistical returns on a variety of subject areas for which the Home Office Policing Statistics Group has, among other things, responsibility for quality assurance, producing statistical analysis and statistical outputs including police recorded crime. The Policing Statistics Group responsible for this statistical analysis is staffed as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Grade 6 1 
			 Grade 7 2 
			 Senior Executive Officer 2 
			 Higher Executive Officer 2 
			 Senior Research Officers/Senior Statistical Office 5 
			 Research Officer 1 
			 Executive Officer 2 
			 Research Trainee 1 
		
	
	The data from Essex police is transferred electronically to the Home Office Policing Statistics Collection Section which is headed by a Senior Executive Officer. In addition there is one Higher Executive Officer, one Executive Officer and four Administrative Officers involved in the data transfer and the initial quality assurance process.
	All of these staff report ultimately to the Home Office Chief Statistician.
	With the exception of data on homicides, all of the returns received involve aggregated data and no details of individuals are known. All published data is in aggregated form. In addition, staff within the Policing Statistics Group work to statistical disclosure procedures in accordance with the National Statistics guidance.
	All of the datasets managed are password controlled. Staff new to the Policing Statistics Group are given instruction on how data should be handled and all of the staff involved are subject to the provisions laid out in the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Official Secrets Act 1989.

Genetics: Databases

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contingency plans she has in place in the event of large-scale losses of data from the DNA database.

Meg Hillier: The operation of the national DNA database is overseen by the custodian, who manages it both through his own staff and through a contract awarded to the Forensic Science Service (FSS), for operation and management of the NDNAD and its IT systems. The FSS is required to demonstrate compliance with specified security requirements, and the NDNAD system is subject to independent security accreditation.
	Under business continuity planning arrangements for the NDNAD, the data held on it is backed up and could be recovered in the event of loss of data from the database.

Genetics: Databases

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been where the guilt of the person was determined by reference to samples held on the national DNA database, broken down by category of offence.

Meg Hillier: Information on the number of convictions obtained by reference to DNA is not collected, as convictions are obtained by integrated criminal investigation not by forensic science alone. However, data has been collected since 1998 on detections in which a DNA match was available and/or played a part in solving the crime. It is estimated that over the period April 1998 to March 2008, there have been over 272,000 detections. A breakdown of this figure by year is given in table 1. A breakdown of detections in 2007-08 by crime type is given in table 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of detections in which a DNA match was available or played apart, April 1998 to March 2008, England and Wales 
			   Detected crimes in which a DNA match was available  Additional detections arising from DNA match( 1)  Total detected crimes in which a DNA match was available or played a part 
			 1998-99 6,151 n/a 6,151 
			 1999-2000 8,612 n/a 8,612 
			 2000-01 14,785 n/a 14,785 
			 2001-02 15,894 6,509 22,403 
			 2002-03 21,098 12,717 33,815 
			 2003-04 20,489 15,899 36,388 
			 2004-05 19,873 15,732 35,605 
			 2005-06 20,349 19,960 40,309 
			 2006-07 19,949 21,199 41,148 
			 2007-08 17,614 15,420 33,034 
			 Total 164,814 107,436 272,250 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Additional detections may result from the original crime with the DNA match due to the identification of further offences through forensic linkage or through admission by the offender. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Detections, 2007-08, England and Wales 
			  Crime type  Number 
			 Homicide 83 
			 Rape 184 
			 Robbery 617 
			 Other violent crime 849 
			 Other sex offences 64 
			 Drugs offences 321 
			 Domestic burglary 3,443 
			 Other burglary 3,886 
			 Theft from vehicle 2,201 
			 Theft of vehicle 1,379 
			 Criminal damage 3,180 
			 All other recorded crime 1,407 
			 Total 17,614

Police: Bureaucracy

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the current National Bureaucracy Advisor on Police Reform is.

Tony McNulty: The role of national bureaucracy advisor came to an end in the summer of 2007. The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) now leads the Government's work in this area and is working very closely with forces, authorities and frontline officers and staff to take this work forward.
	Jan Berry will shortly take up a new post focussed on providing an independent voice to Government and the service to further improve performance in this area.

Police: Ethnic Groups

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of police constables in England and Wales are from an ethnic minority;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of police officers in England and Wales at a rank above police constable are from an ethnic minority;
	(3)  how many and what percentage of  (a) special constables and  (b) police community support officers in England and Wales are from an ethnic minority;
	(4)  how many and what percentage of chief constables in England and Wales are from an ethnic minority;
	(5)  how many and what percentage of police commanders in England and Wales are from an ethnic minority.

Tony McNulty: The latest available information relates to 31 March 2008 and is given in the following table. Separate information for chief constables and police commanders are not collected centrally so figures for ACPO rank officers are provided instead.
	
		
			  Number of police officers and staff in post, England and Wales, 31 March 2008( 1) 
			   Number in post  
			   Measure( 2)  Total  Ethnic minority  Ethnic minority percentage of total 
			 Police Constables fte 108,884 4,823 4.4 
			 Officers above the rank of police constable(3) fte 32,975 970 2.9 
			 Special Constables hc 14,547 1,351 9.3 
			 Police Community Support Officers fte 15,805 1,813 11.5 
			 ACPO rank officers(4) fte 202 7 3.5 
			 (1) Figures relate to the 43 forces in England and Wales, and exclude British Transport Police and secondments to Central Service organisations. (2) Measures are in terms of full time equivalents (fte), except for special constables where a head count (hc) measure is appropriate. (3) Includes Sergeant, Inspector, Chief Inspector, Superintendent, Chief Superintendent and ACPO ranks. (4) Includes Assistant Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Chief Constable; in the Metropolitan Police Service, Commander, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner; in the City of London Police, Commander, Assistant Commissioner and Commissioner.

Blackpool Primary Care Trust: Cancer

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress Blackpool Primary Care Trust has made towards achieving its cancer screening targets in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is set out in the following tables:
	
		
			  Breast screening programme: coverage of women aged 53-64 by specified organisations, at 31 March 1998 to 2007 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002( 2)  2003( 2)  2004( 2)  2005( 2)  2006( 2)  2007( 2) 
			  North West Lancashire Health Authority   
			 Eligible population(1) 41,205 41,787 42,111 42,460 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Number screened (less than 3 years since last adequate test) 27,116 28,647 29,787, 29,712 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Percentage coverage (less than 3 years since last adequate test) 65.8 68.6 70.7 70.0 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			
			  Blackpool PCT   
			 Eligible population(1) n/a n/a n/a n/a 11,088 11,138 11,024 10,846 10,800 10,790 
			 Number screened (less than 3 years since last adequate test) n/a n/a n/a n/a 8,073 8,462 8,287 7,645 8,143 6,513 
			 Percentage coverage (less than 3 years since last adequate test) n/a n/a n/a n/a 72.8 76.0 75.2 70.5 75.4 60.4 
			 n/a = not available (1) This is the number of women in the registered population less those recorded as ineligible. (2) Data for 2003 to 2006 have been aggregated to match current primary care organisation boundaries and need to be treated as estimates. Data before 2003 are for health authority areas and are not directly comparable.  Notes: 1. The coverage of the breast screening programme is the proportion of women resident and eligible that have had a test with a recorded result at least once in the previous 3 years. 2. Coverage of the screening programme is currently best assessed using the 53-64 age group as women may be first called at any time between their 50th and 53rd birthdays. 3. The breast screening programme covers women aged 50-64 but it was extended to invite women aged 65-70 in April 2001. 4. The last unit began inviting women aged 65-70 in April 2006 and full coverage should be achieved by 200.8-09.  Source: KC63 The Information Centre for health and social care. 
		
	
	
		
			  Cervical screening programme: coverage of women aged 25-64, for specified organisations, 31 March 1998 to 2007 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002( 2)  2003( 2)  2004( 2)  2005( 2)  2006( 2)  2007( 2) 
			  North West Lancashire Health Authority   
			 Eligible population(1) 111,823 111,967 111,560 111,362 111,451 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Number screened (less than 5 years since last adequate test) 92,018 91,373 91,727 91,295 91,473 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Percentage coverage (less than 5 years since last adequate test) 82.3 81.6 82.2 82.0 82.1 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			
			  Blackpool PCT   
			 Eligible population(1) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 35,318 35,345 35,338 35,358 35,516 
			 Number screened (less than 5 years since last adequate test) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 28,053 27,708 27,087 26,615 26,620 
			 Percentage coverage (less than 5 years since last adequate test) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 79.4 78.4 76.7 75.3 75.0 
			 n/a = not available (1) This is the number of women in the resident population less those with recall ceased for clinical reasons. (2) Data for 2003 to 2006 have been aggregated to match current PCO boundaries and need to be treated as estimates. Data before 2003 are for health authority areas and are not directly comparable.  Notes: 1. National policy for the cervical screening programme is that eligible women aged 25 to 64 should be screened every three or five years (women aged 25 to 49 are screened every three years, those aged 50 to 64 every five years). 2. Data prior to 2002 are estimates, original data were based on last test with a result, not last adequate test (as used currently) and have been adjusted to allow for this. 3. Data prior to 1999 has been revised from published data, to not exclude from the eligible population (denominator) women whose recall was ceased due to age or other non-clinical reasons.  Source: KC53 Parts A2 and A3 The Information Centre for health and social care

Cancer

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) population,  (b) five year cancer survival rate and  (c) NHS spending on cancer was in each cancer network in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table shows the latest estimated populations for each cancer network as of January 2008 and the national health service spending by population expenditure on cancer in 2006-07 for each cancer network.
	
		
			  Cancer network name  Estimated population  Expenditure by network population2006-07(000) 
			 Lancashire and South Cumbria 1,513,734 133,275 
			 Greater Manchester and Cheshire 3,026,670 274,357 
			 Merseyside and Cheshire 2,013,727 187,023 
			 Yorkshire 2,636,000 238,854 
			 Humber and Yorkshire Coast 1,053,083 86,902 
			 North Trent 1,772,905 148,830 
			 Pan Birmingham 1,902,118 167,296 
			 Arden 989,922 88,843 
			 Mid Trent 1,622,313 160,503 
			 Derby/Burton 694,250 58,756 
			 Leicestershire Northants and Rutland 1,612,309 128,794 
			 Mount Vernon 1,237,808 88,326 
			 West London 1,829,803 117,649 
			 North London 1,513,763 116,330 
			 North East London 1,535,083 124,828 
			 South East London 1,527,993 115,738 
			 South West London 1,555,376 119,113 
			 Peninsula 1,632,990 125,903 
			 Dorset 698,684 67,531 
			 Avon, Somerset and Wiltshire 1,879,525 145,581 
			 3 Counties 1,035,537 76,604 
			 Thames Valley 2,328,161 164,428 
			 Central South Coast 1,950,651 151,874 
			 Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire 1,193,245 102,870 
			 Sussex 1,154,727 89,722 
			 Kent and Medway 1,624,863 124,839 
			 Greater Midlands 1,882,323 151,263 
			 North of England 2,995,948 270,834 
			 Anglia 2,667,897 196,578 
			 Essex 1,384,217 98,944 
			  Source: National Cancer Intelligence Network and the Department of Health 
		
	
	Collection and publication of one and five year survival rates is the responsibility of the Office of National Statistics and can be obtained from their website:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=861Pos=1ColRank=1Rank=374
	A copy of these data have been placed in the Library.
	It is not possible to provide the five-year cancer survival rates for each cancer network, as parts of this data may make it possible to identify individual patients.

Cholesterol

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to reduce reported high exception rates to lowering cholesterol levels among patients in spearhead primary care trusts.

Ben Bradshaw: The latest research by the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre shows that although practices in deprived areas have slightly higher exception rates for patients than practices in affluent areas, deprivation related variation in reported quality of care for measured activities reduced during the first three years of the quality outcomes framework resulting in more equitable delivery of health care for these activities.
	Nevertheless, the average rate of exception reporting is just under 6 per cent. there are considerable variations between indicators and between practices. We propose to discuss with the profession how we can minimise exception reporting (as recommended by the National Audit Office) in order to ensure that all patients who would benefit from treatment have access to it.

Dementia: Research

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration has his Department has given to funding research into off-patent drug treatments for dementia.

Ben Bradshaw: A draft of a National Dementia Strategy was published on 19 June for consultation. The consultation closes on 11 September 2008 and we will carefully consider all the responses we receive before deciding the final shape of the National Strategy, and what resources are available to support its implementation. As part of this consultation we have invited views on a dementia research summit for funders, charities and industry to review how all parties can work together to deliver a programme of research into prevention, cause, cure and care and, separately, a review of the use of anti-psychotic drugs for people with dementia.

Health Centres

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when a patient is treated in a GP-led health centre without being registered there, by what mechanism the centre will be paid for that patient's treatment.

Ben Bradshaw: This is a local contractual matter for each primary care trust, who have been advised to make payments on a similar basis to that which existing general practitioner practices receive funding for treating such patients e.g. based on the volume of patients treated at a fixed price.

Lasers: Injuries

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many injuries were sustained from Class 3b and 4 lasers and intense light sources in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table represents adverse events from laser and intense light sources that have been reported to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) between 1 January 2003 and the 5 September 2008
	
		
			   Laser 3B  Laser 4  Intense Light Source 
			 2008 (to date) 12 15 1 
			 2007 18 21 1 
			 2006 11 25 2 
			 2005 16 8 0 
			 2004 14 20 2 
			 2003 7 14 3 
			 Total 78 103 9 
		
	
	It is important to note that not all adverse events are reported to the MHRA. Whist manufacturers are required to report an event if it falls under the definition of the Medical Devices Directives Vigilance, (i.e. an actual or potential injury either to a patient or the user) reporting of such events from the national health service or private healthcare facilities is voluntary.

NHS: Video Conferencing

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides on the  (a) procurement and  (b) use of video-conferencing technology for the delivery of healthcare in the NHS.

Ben Bradshaw: The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) has a framework for the provision of voice, video and data products and services which includes the procurement of video-conferencing services. This framework is available to all NHS trusts in England providing for the supply, design, project management, maintenance and installation video conferencing equipment for point-to-point or point-to-multipoint communication services.
	There are 16 suppliers providing these services and NHS PASA provides procurement advice and expertise.
	Implementation and the potential application of the technologies, especially in clinical areas is determined by trusts based on local needs.

Vioxx

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with Merck in the United States on the effects of Vioxx on people in England; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, met with representatives of Merck Sharpe and Dohme UK Ltd on 10 July 2008 where he highlighted the concerns raised by hon. Members on behalf of their constituents. A representative from Merck and Co., Inc. was also present at that meeting.

Carers: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to paragraph 3.11 in the Carers at the heart of 21st-century families and communities report, how much of the 150 million funding for breaks for carers of disabled children will be provided by his Department over each of the next two years.

Bill Rammell: DIUS is not involved in making direct respite care payments to carers of disabled children. The Department of Health are the budget holders of the 150 million referred to therefore we would refer you to Mr. Ivan Lewis' response (220304).

Departmental Buildings

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his Department's policy is on improving the energy efficiency of the buildings which it  (a) rents and  (b) owns; what changes there have been in the energy efficiency of such buildings in the last (i) five and (ii) 10 years; and whether his Department has adopted targets on energy efficiency improvements in the buildings it occupies over the next (A) five and (B) 10 years.

David Lammy: Estate services for the main office accommodation occupied by the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills are provided by the Departments for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and Children Schools and Families. Answers given by those Departments will therefore cover this Department as well.
	The Department for Innovation Universities and Skills also manages an estate in Teddington, occupied principally by the National Physical Laboratory. The majority of activities undertaken on the estate have recently moved to new and very different accommodation, so historical comparisons would not be meaningful. However a number of tasks are underway to improve the energy efficiency of the new NPL building such as night-time set-back of environmental control, filming of windows and installation of the infrastructure for a ground source heat pump system.

Departmental Public Participation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what  (a) reviews and  (b) public consultations have been initiated by his Department since 27 June 2007.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007.
	The Department places the highest emphasis on effective review and consultations with public and stakeholders as vital elements of evidence based policy making and delivery.
	The  (a) reviews and  (b) public consultations initiated by the Department have been detailed as follows.
	 (a) Reviews
	Review of the Designing Demand programme run by the Design Council
	Audit of the Government Chemist function by two external experts
	The Review of Post 16 Learner Statistical First releases
	Operation of the Government funded Apprenticeship programme in England (joint with DCSF)
	Review of Investors in People UK's remit including services to help employers develop their business
	The performance management arrangements for offender skills and employment delivery
	Reform of Weights and Measures Legislation
	 (b) Consultations
	Science and Society Strategy Consultation Innovation Nation Consultation
	The PIUS Single Equality Scheme
	Raising Expectations: Consultation on two new systems to deliver education and training for young people and adults (jointly with DCSF)
	Focusing English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) on Community Cohesion
	Informal Adult LearningShaping the Way Ahead
	The role of Further Education Providers in promoting community cohesion, fostering shared values and preventing violent extremism
	The draft Apprenticeships Bill
	Improvement in the Further Education Sectora consultative prospectus for a new sector-owned organisation (joint with Quality improvement Agency (QIA) and Centre for Excellence in Leadership(CEL)
	A formal time to train consultation
	European IP Charter (Code) for the management of intellectual property by universities and other publicly research organisations
	Fast track processing of Patents and Trade Marks
	The Draft Patents (Compulsory Licensing and Supplementary Protection Certificates) Regulations 2007
	Proposed changes to copyright exceptions
	Modernisation and consolidation of the Trade Marks Rules.
	Informal Consultation Paper on The Modernisation of the Trade Marks (International Registration) Order
	The Artist's Resale Right: Derogation for Deceased Artists
	Proposed changes to Copyright Exemptions in respect of Music Licensing
	Informal Consultation Paper on The Patent Research Exception

Further Education: Student Wastage

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students in further education in England failed to complete their course in the last 12 months; and how many of them were in  (a) the final year of their course and  (b) the first year of their course (i) in total and (ii) broken down by region.

Bill Rammell: Table 1 shows the percentage and number of students that failed to complete their course in 2006/07 for FE colleges, Work Based Learning (WBL) and Train to Gain (TTG) separately. The figures are calculated using different methodologies and should not be used to compare performance between the sectors. Similar figures for Personal and Community Development Learning are not available.
	Data on how many learners dropped out in the first and second years respectively is not available.
	Table 2 shows the percentage and number of FE college students that failed to complete their course by region in 2005/06. Similar analysis for later years and for WBL and TTG is not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Percentage and number of students that failed to complete their course in 2006/07 for FE colleges, WBL and TTG 
			  Sector  Starts (thousand)  Percentage early leavers  Number early leavers (thousand) 
			 FE colleges 3,567 12.6 449 
			 WBL 181 32.7 59 
			 TTG 93 40.2 37 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Percentage and number of FE college students that failed to complete their course by region in 2005/06 
			  Sector  Starts  Percentage early leavers  Number early leavers (thousand) 
			 East of England 325 13.0 50 
			 East Midlands 363 12.7 53 
			 Greater London 744 11.8 98 
			 North East 244 12.1 35 
			 North West 661 13.7 97 
			 South East 608 13.2 86 
			 South West 470 13.7 71 
			 West Midlands 591 12.8 80 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 464 14.4 75 
			 England 4,470 13.0 645

Students: Fees and Charges

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of students began undergraduate courses in England on fees varied from the statutory permissible maximum in each year since the introduction of the Higher Education Act 2003.

Ian Pearson: Variable fees were introduced in 2006/07. In that year new entrants to higher education could be charged up to 3,000. Increases are limited to the rate of inflation until at least 2010. Universities charging variable fees have to have an access agreement with the Office For Fair Access (OFFA) and are required to provide bursaries to students receiving the full Maintenance Grant. Many offer considerably more than the minimum bursary required. Fees can vary by course as well as institution.
	
		
			  English domiciled full-time undergraduate entrants to English higher education institutions by fee status 2006/07 
			  Fee status of institution  New entrants( 1)  Percentage of students 
			 Institutions charging full fee 277,200 93 
			 Institutions not charging full fee 19,445 7 
			 (1) Figures are on a HESA Standard Registration Population basis and are rounded to the nearest five.  Sources: OFFA lists of institutions by fee status; Higher Education Statistics Agency (MESA) Student Record

Students: Loans

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many live accounts are held by the Student Loan Company for which no repayment is currently being received, broken down by reason for the lack of repayment.

Bill Rammell: Borrowers are liable to begin repaying their student loans from the April after they finish or leave their course. Student loans borrowers with income-contingent loans, which were introduced in 1998, repay at a rate of 9 per cent. of earnings above 15,000 per year. Those earning less than 15,000 are not required to repay. Repayments are collected through the tax system, usually by employers, in the same way as income tax and National Insurance contributions and are therefore automatically deducted. Therefore borrowers covered by the PAYE UK tax system are not able to get into arrears. Self employed borrowers make repayments through the Self Assessment system.
	Borrowers with the older mortgage-style loans repay over a fixed term whenever their income exceeds the repayment threshold, usually through direct debits. The threshold for mortgage-style loans is 85 per cent. of national average earnings, 25,287 from 1 September 2007. Borrowers who demonstrate that their income is below the threshold and for whom the Student Loans Company (SLC) has agreed a deferment of repayment will not make any repayments.
	Most of the following provisional information is taken from the Statistical First Release Student Loans for Higher Education in England, Financial Year 2007-08 published by the Student Loans Company in June 2008:
	http://www.slc.co.uk/pdf/slcsfr022008.pdf
	At the end of the 2007-08 financial year there were 1,237,300 income-contingent loan borrowers and nearly 341,100 mortgage-style loan borrowers past statutory repayment due date, i.e. due to repay loans if their income was above the relevant threshold.
	
		
			  Income-contingent loan borrowers( 1)  March 2008 
			 Non-repayment categories (records being matched and information being collected) 71,100 
			 Below earnings threshold not repaying 384,300 
			 Living overseasin arrears(2) 500 
			 Not yet repaying subtotal 455,900 
			 SLC awaiting first year HMRC returnrepayment status not yet determined(3) 254,600 
			 Above earnings threshold -repaying 374,700 
			 Currently below earnings threshold but have made repayments via the tax system during the last year(4) 152,100 
			 (1) Excludes borrowers not yet required to repay because they are still in higher education or have recently left and those with accounts being fully repaid, written-off or closed. (2) May have made repayments that did not bring their accounts up to date. (3) Those for whom the first tax year return has not yet been received by SLC so their repayment status cannot yet be determined. This will include some borrowers who are repaying and SLC will be passed details of their repayments after the end of their first tax year of repaying. (4) Those whose earnings have fluctuated during the year and who have therefore made repayments in some months but have earnings below the threshold at the end of the financial year. 
		
	
	The income-contingent loan scheme is still relatively young; the first cohort of borrowers completing three year courses became liable to begin repaying in April 2002 if their income was above the repayment threshold. Therefore a higher proportion of borrowers are new graduates, who will be new to the labour market, than will be the case in steady state. The figures also reflect the time delay of up to 18 months between graduates starting to repay, and when information on the repayments they have made is available to SLC. This is because repayments are made through the tax system. HMRC receives an annual P14 return from employers, setting out the deductions they have made in the past year, and passes on this information to SLC to update borrowers' accounts. Despite the inevitable time lags, collecting student loans through the tax system remains the most efficient and cost-effective method.
	The vast majority of income-contingent borrowers who are not repaying (84 per cent. of those not repaying) earn below the 15,000 threshold and are not therefore required to make any repayments. Repayments for a further 16 per cent. have not yet started because details are still being matched with employer's records or other information that is being collected.
	Borrowers living overseas who have not yet repaid the amount they were scheduled to repay represent 0.04 per cent. of income-contingent borrowers covered in the table and 0.1 per cent. of those not repaying. The Student Loans Company has arrangements in place for repayments to be scheduled from borrowers living overseas and these borrowers are made aware of the methods of repayment available to them. Effective collection across the EU is underpinned by EC regulation 44/2001, which allows the SLC to obtain judgements in UK courts, which can be enforced by courts in other EU countries.
	
		
			  Mortgage-style loan borrowers March 2008( 1) 
			  Deferring repayments until following year( 2)  
			 Deferring repayments 133,800 
			 Deferring repayments with arrears 6,500 
			   
			  In arrears (may have made repayments that did not bring accounts up to date)  
			 Owing less than 2 months repayments(1) 2,200 
			 Owing 2 or more months repayments(1) 23,900 
			 Overdue with no repayment schedule owing less than 100(1) 2,200 
			 Overdue with no repayment schedule owing 100 or more(1) 53,500 
			   
			  Repaying  
			 Ahead with repayments 37,300 
			 Up to date with repayments 87,100 
			   
			  Account closed  
			 Fully repaid since loans introduced 534,300 
			 Cancelled/written-off since loans introduced 71,800 
			 (1) Individual borrowers may be counted in more than one category if they have loan accounts in more than one status. (2) Borrowers with mortgage-style loans who have income below the repayment threshold are entitled to apply for deferment of repayment for one year at a time. 
		
	
	Of those borrowers who halve received mortgage-style loans since their introduction in 1990, 56 per cent. have fully repaid and a further 8 per cent. have had their loans cancelled or written-off for reasons such as age, death, or becoming disabled and permanently unable to work. Around 23 per cent. are currently deferring or have arrears. Mortgage-style loans were replaced by income-contingent loans from 1998.

Inland Waterways: Property

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many lock-keepers' cottages his Department plans to  (a) sell and  (b) let in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency has put on hold any changes proposed by its lock house review until the completion of a full review of Waterways staff roles and responsibilities, and terms and conditions on the river Thames.
	No action will be taken to sell or rent lock houses until negotiations on the full review are completed. It is anticipated that negotiations will take six months but no action will be taken before 1 January 2009. The Environment Agency will then review the position on lock houses with lock-keepers and their representatives, and with concerned MPs.

Nitrates: Air Pollution

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of a UK derogation from the nitrogen oxide provisions of the EU Air Quality Directive; whether he plans to meet the European Commission to discuss the matter; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The UK is working to meet ambient air quality limit values in the shortest time possible. The UK Air Quality Strategy provides full details which can be found on the DEFRA website. The nitrogen dioxide limit values are extremely challenging and current projections indicate that despite these efforts, the UK, like most other member states, expects to report breaches beyond the 2010 compliance deadline. Subject to a full public consultation, the Government will therefore need to use the provision in the new Ambient Air Quality Directive which gives the possibility of a further five years to meet the limit values.
	A successful application to the European Commission will need to demonstrate how compliance with the limit values will be achieved by 2015. The Government, with the devolved administrations, are currently working to establish the extent and nature of the measures that will be required.
	In the meantime, my officials are working closely with other member states and the European Commission in taking this issue forward.

Child Support Agency: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will arrange for a final reply to be sent to the hon. Member for Walsall North from the Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency (CSA) about a constituent of the hon. Member further to the CSA letter of 30 July 2008, reference PCO/177 431/CM/WOD.

Anne McGuire: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty to Mr. Winnick:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will arrange for a final reply to be sent to the hon. Member for Walsall North from the Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency (CSA) about a constituent of the hon. Member further to the CSA letter of 30th July 2008 reference PCO/177 431/CM/WOD. (223188)
	As details about individual cases are confidential, I have written to you separately about this case.

Housing Benefit: Arrears

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for 52 week backdating of housing benefit have been received in each of the last five years; and how many and what percentage of those applications were successful.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer the Parliamentary Under-Secretary gave the hon. Member for Cardiff, Central, (Jenny Willott), on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1173W.

Members: Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plan to reply to the letter dated 4 June 2008 from the right hon. Member for Banff and Buchan on his constituent, Mr. Rawles of Turriff.

Jane Kennedy: A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the hon. Member for Walsall North's letter of 10 July 2008 regarding a constituent, reference 1/59111/2008.

Angela Eagle: I have now done so and regret not being in a position to write to the hon. Member earlier.

Property: Valuation

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of private dwelling sales were valued at 175,000 or less in the most recent year for which figures are available, broken down by  (a) parliamentary constituency and  (b) region and devolved administration area.

Kitty Ussher: Data on property transactions up to 2007the most recent year for which figures are publishedcan be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/survey_of_prop/index.htm
	This data includes property transactions by type of property and price as well as the number and value of property transactions broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Taxation: Aviation

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from  (a) airline operators,  (b) airport operators and  (c) overseas governments on the proposed aviation duty; and which of these were (i) in favour and (ii) against the proposals.

Jane Kennedy: The consultation on the proposed aviation duty closed on 24 April 2008 and considered all aspects of the operation of the duty.
	Responses to the consultation were received from airline operators, airport operators and overseas governments, among others.
	A summary of responses will be published in due course.

Taxation: Welsh Language

Mark Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offices will be able to deal with Welsh language enquiries following the planned reorganisation of HMRC;
	(2)  what provision he plans to make for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offices to deal with Welsh language inquiries as part of the planned reorganisation of HMRC;

Jane Kennedy: HMRC remains committed to providing services to its Welsh speaking customers, in accordance with its Welsh Language scheme.
	The Welsh language Contact Centre in Porthmadog and the VAT Helpline in Cardiff will continue, as now. Enquiries received by HMRC offices may need to be referred to the dedicated Welsh Language services based in Cardiff and Porthmadog.
	The Welsh Language Contact Centre in Porthmadog will continue to provide direct services to Welsh speaking customers who telephone, visit or write.
	The current arrangements for handling Welsh speaking callers to other Enquiry Centres will also remain in place.

Administration of Justice: Information and Communications Technology

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effects of malfunctions in the Libra computer system on the operation of the criminal justice system in the last 12 months.

Maria Eagle: The implementation of the Libra system has not had a significant impact upon overall performance in the Criminal Justice System over the last 12 months.
	The introduction of any new IT system and standardised business processes for the courts will inevitably have an initial impact on performance as they come to terms with new ways of working. Libra implementation has impacted upon resulting performance in some courts.
	Once fully implemented (by December 2008) the Libra system will provide a platform for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the magistrates court with positive benefits for other parts of the Criminal Justice System.

Departmental Buildings

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on improving the energy efficiency of the buildings which it  (a) rents and  (b) owns; what changes there have been in the energy efficiency of such buildings in the last (i) five and (ii) 10 years; and whether his Department has adopted targets on energy efficiency improvements in the buildings it occupies over the next (A) five and (B) 10 years.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice is taking the Government's sustainability agenda seriously and is actively working to improve the energy efficiency of the buildings which it rents and owns. The Department published its Sustainable Development Action Plan in March 2008 and is working towards the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate targets:
	To increase the energy efficiency per m(2) by:
	15 per cent. by 2010, relative to 1999-2000 levels
	30 by 2020, relative to 1999-2000 levels, and
	To reduce CO2 emissions from the office estate by:
	12.5 per cent. by 2010-11, relative to 1999-2000 levels
	30 per cent. by 2020, relative to 1999-2000 levels.
	As the Ministry of Justice was created in May 2007 and was previously subject to significant machinery of government changes there would be a disproportionate cost to establish the changes in energy efficiency of buildings over the last five and ten years.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in his Department and its agencies in each of the last three financial years.

Michael Wills: Press Officers are able to claim reasonable expenses where these are essential in doing their job, mainly for travel and essential subsistence. Receipts must be produced and claims approved by senior managers. Any spending of public money is carried out in accordance with strict guidelines governing all Civil Servants.
	The Ministry of Justice was formed on 9 May 2007. Therefore the figures in the list also include the former Department for Constitutional Affairs.
	2007-008: 1,345.82
	2006-07: 1,242.14
	2005-06: 2,608.61
	 Her Majesty's Court Service (HMCS):
	2008-09 (paid to date): 11.90
	2007-08: 1,029.33
	2006-07: 215.15
	 Judicial Communications Office:
	2007-08: 372.10
	2006-07: 297.75
	2005-06: 101.55
	 Tribunal Service:
	Before April 2007, the press office budget was part of a wider budget and figures are not attainable. Since April 2007, 367 has been paid.
	 National Archives:
	2008-09 (paid to date): 22.20
	2007-08: 219.38
	2005-06: 319.60
	 Land Registry:
	2007-08: 387.65
	2006-07: 551.05
	2005-06: 589.61
	The Boundary Commission for England, the Boundary Commission for Wales and the Office of the Public Guardian do not have press officers. The Judicial Appointments Commission has not reimbursed any expenses to press officers.
	Section 8 of the Civil Service Management Code provides departments and agencies with the authority to reimburse the expenses incurred by their own staff in connection with their employment, subject to the following conditions:
	 8.1.2 Departments and agencies must:
	(a) reimburse staff only for expenses which they actually and necessarily incur in the course of official business;
	(b) comply with the additional conditions on travel, relocation expenses, compensation for loss or damage to property, and overseas expenses set out in sections 8.2 to 8.6; and
	(c) ensure that their rules provide for claiming recompense, including verification and authorisation.
	The Civil Service Management Code can be viewed at:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/csmc/index.asp.

Departmental Public Participation

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many citizens' juries his Department has held in the last 12 months.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice has not held any citizen's juries over the last 12 months. We have begun to engage the public in other ways, including through The Governance of Britain website and regional events. We have also produced a discussion document, A national framework for greater citizen engagement, which sets out the circumstances in which citizens' juries should be held and invites views on these proposals.

Fixed Penalties

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 2023-25W, on fixed penalties, whether additional data is available for subsequent months.

Maria Eagle: For the most recent information on PNDs issued from 2004 to 2006, I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 1287-88W.
	Of the categories of fixed penalty notices collected by my Department, information is available for penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) and fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for motoring offences.
	Data on the number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued and paid by police force area for each month from 2004 to 2006 are provided in tables, which have been placed in the Libraries of the House. The PND scheme began in all 43 police forces in England and Wales in 2004.
	Motoring offences fixed penalty notices data are submitted to my Department on a calendar year basis from police forces. The data does not contain a month by month breakdown.
	Available annual information on motoring fixed penalty notices can be found in the Ministry of Justice statistical publication Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales, Supplementary tablestables 20(a) to 20(c) refer. Copies of the publication are available in the Libraries of the House. The publication going back to 1980 can be accessed from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/motoringoffences.htm
	Data are collected on the disposal (i.e. paid, fine registration certificate issued etc.) and published in the following year's annual volume covering motoring offences.
	Information on PNDs issued by month in 2007 will be available in November 2008. Data on FPNs issued does not contain a month by month breakdown.

Information Commissioner: Powers

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to increase the powers of the Information Commissioner.

Michael Wills: On 17 July 2008, the Government published a consultation paper on the Information Commissioner's inspection powers and funding arrangements under the Data Protection Act 1998, in response to the Data Sharing Review published by the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas and Dr. Mark Walport on 11 July 2008.
	The consultation paper proposes strengthening the inspection powers of the Information Commissioner's Office. The consultation ended on 27 August 2008. The Government will consider how best to take forward the recommendations of the Data Sharing review and the result of the consultation exercise and respond in detail in autumn 2008.

Legal Services Commission: Complaints

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what guidance the Legal Services Commission has issued to  (a) its staff and  (b) the public on its complaints procedures since April 2004;
	(2)  what guarantee the Legal Services Commission provides to complainants on the treatment of their complaint; and what arrangements are in place to monitor the application of that guarantee.

Michael Wills: I refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Bridget Prentice) answers to him on 4 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1040W, and 22 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 411-12W.

Offensive Weapons: Sentencing

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions his Department has had with the Sentencing Guidelines Council on penalties on those charged with carrying knives.

Jack Straw: There is a formal process of consultation in respect of draft Sentencing Guidelines Council guidelines. The Government offers comments to the SGC as part of this process. Oral discussions with the SGC and ministers do not normally occur.

Political Parties: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether the triggering rules outlined in the white paper on party finance and expenditure will apply to third party campaign spending by  (a) trades unions and  (b) charities;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1310W, on political parties: finance, whether the new proposed trigger rules will apply to members of the devolved assemblies and European and Scottish Parliaments;
	(3)  whether the new proposed trigger rules will apply to parliamentary by-elections.

Bridget Prentice: As set out in the White Paper, party finance and expenditure in the United Kingdom (CM7329), published on 16 June 2008, and in the Political Parties and Elections Bill (Bill 141), introduced on 17 July 2008, the proposals to reintroduce triggering will apply only to spending by candidates at a parliamentary general election. That is in line with the original position set out in the Representation of the People Act 1983, under which the original triggering rules only ever applied to Parliamentary candidates.
	The triggering proposals will not apply to third parties, whose campaign spending is regulated over a period of 365 days up to the date of the election.
	The triggering proposals will not apply to candidates at parliamentary by-elections, for which existing rules will remain in place. This is made clear on the face of the Bill.
	The triggering proposals will not apply to members of the devolved assemblies and Scottish Parliament. As set out in the White Paper, it is intended that the regulated period for candidate expenses for elections to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly will be set at four months. The Government intend to bring forward secondary legislation to give effect to this proposal in due course.
	The triggering proposals will not apply to candidates for election to the European Parliament. Party candidates are not subject to individual election expenses limits at European Parliament elections. Expenditure incurred to promote party list candidates is treated as party campaign expenditure and is therefore regulated by the relevant provisions of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA).

Political Parties: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to introduce a compliance grant to assist with the costs of moving procedure and practice into compliance with the provisions of any Act resulting from the white paper on party finance and expenditure.

Bridget Prentice: Sir Hayden Phillips' draft agreement, which he put to the inter-party talks in August 2007, proposed public funding to assist the parties with compliance with the new regulations. He proposed that this scheme be capped at a maximum of 1.5 million in total. Sir Hayden's proposed scheme was a more radical departure from current arrangements than the proposals set out in the Political Parties and Elections Bill in particular he recommended a cap on donations and a significant enhancement of public funding. We have no current proposals for compliance grant but we are open to representations on this.

Political Parties: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1310W, on political parties: finance, 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the compliance of introducing the new trigger rules in the middle of a Parliament with Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy for any new triggering rules to commence at the start of the next Parliament;
	(3)  how the new triggering rules will affect parliamentary candidates who have already declared their candidature or incurred local campaign expenditure.

Bridget Prentice: The Government intend that the measures to re-introduce triggering set out in the Political Parties and Elections Bill (Bill 141), introduced on 17 July 2008, would come into force on the day on which the Bill received Royal Assent. The provision in the Bill on candidate spending will apply to all expenses for electoral purposes which are incurred after that date.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) has made a statement under section 19(l)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1998 that, in his view, the provisions of the Political Parties and Elections Bill are compatible with the Convention rights.

Political Parties: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1310W, on political parties: finance, what the timetable is for the publication of the impact assessments referred to.

Bridget Prentice: Impact assessments for the Political Parties and Elections Bill (Bill 141) were published alongside introduction to the House on 17 July 2008. The five impact assessments can be found on the Ministry of Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/political-parties-elections-bill.htm
	or in the Vote Office.

Polling Stations: Disabled

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps the Government has taken to facilitate access to polling stations for those with disabilities.

Bridget Prentice: The Government are keen to ensure that the electoral process is accessible to all electors. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 extends the duty placed on local authorities to review polling places to ensure that as far as is reasonable and practicable they are accessible for electors with disabilities. Under the Act, local authorities must carry out a full review of polling places at least every four years, and representations can be made to the Electoral Commission in respect of reviews carried out by local authorities. Further, the returning officer for an election must now provide at every polling station an enlarged hand-held sample copy of the ballot paper for the assistance of voters who are partially sighted. The Government also provide grant assistance to local authorities of up to 50 per cent. of the cost of temporary ramps to improve access to buildings which may need them for the purpose of elections.

Prison Service: Ethnic Groups

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of prison officers in England and Wales were from an ethnic minority background in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 1997.

David Hanson: Information in the following table shows the total figures for public and contracted establishments.
	
		
			  The number and proportion of prison officers from an ethnic minority background( 1, 2, 3) 
			  As at 31 December each year  Number of BME prison officers  Proportion prison officers recorded as BME (Percentage) 
			 1997 525 2.27 
			 2007 1269 5.19 
			 (1) Prison officers: Includes prison officers, senior officers and principal officers within the public sector Prison Service and custody officers and senior custody officers within contracted establishments, where available. (2) Ethnic minority background has been classified as those staff from a black and ethnic minority background (BME). (3) Per cent. as a proportion of those with known ethnicity. 
		
	
	Information is provided for four of the eleven contracted establishments as at the time of the request data was not available from three separate providers. In 1997 only four contracted prisons Altcourse, Doncaster, Pare and Wolds were open.

Prison Service: Females

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of prison officers in England and Wales are women.

David Hanson: Information in the following table shows the total figures for public and contracted establishments.
	The data is provided as a snapshot at the end of June 2008(1).
	(1) Data for seven of the contracted establishments is provided as at the end of January 2008, as updated information was not available at the time of the request
	
		
			   Number and proportion of female prison officers ( 1) 
			 Number of female prison officers 6,557 
			 Proportion prison officers recorded as Female (Percentage) 23.73 
			 (1) Prison Officers: Includes prison officers, senior officers and principal officers within the public sector Prison Service and custody officers and senior custody officers within contracted establishments, where available.

Prisoners Release

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons the 110 prisoners who remain unlawfully at large have been recalled to custody while on end of custody licence.

Jack Straw: 1,153 offenders had been recalled from the End of Custody Licence scheme during the period since the scheme began and until 31 July 2008. As of 15 August, 1,043 such offenders had been successfully apprehended and returned to custody. A subsequent check has confirmed that there were 109 offenders who were still unlawfully at large as of 15 August (not 110 as previously reported). A breakdown of the reasons for which these offenders were recalled is outlined in the following table.
	Offenders may be recalled for more than one reason. A total of 123 reasons for recall have been recorded in respect of the 109 offenders reported as unlawfully at large.
	
		
			  Reasons for recall from ECL  Number of offenders 
			 Alleged reoffending 22 
			 Failure to live at an approved address 34 
			 Out of touch with the probation service 58 
			 Poor behaviour 9

Prisoners Release: Hertfordshire

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been released on end of custody licence from prison in  (a) St. Albans constituency and  (b) Hertfordshire in each year for which figures are available.

David Hanson: The available information on numbers released by establishment is published monthly, in Table 2 of the statistical bulletin End of Custody Licence releases and recalls, available from the Library of the House and the Ministry of Justice website at the following address:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/endofcustodylicence.htm
	The End of Custody Licence scheme was introduced on 29 June 2007. From 29 June 2007 to 31 July 2008 there were 17 prisoners released from The Mount prison, Hertfordshire, under the scheme. There are no prisons in the St. Albans constituency.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Ethnic Groups

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of  (a) male and  (b) female prisoners in England and Wales were of an ethnic minority background in (i) 2007 and (ii) 1997.

David Hanson: Information on the size of the prison population, by sex, ethnic group, and nationality, is published in the annual volume Offender Management Caseload Statistics (Table 8.4), available from the library of the House and from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
	and (2007 data) in the publication Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System2006-07 at the following link:
	http://www.iustice.gov.uk/docs/stats-race-criminal-iustice.pdf.
	At the end of June 2007, the latest published information, there were  (a) 19,658 male ethnic minority prisoners held in all prisons in England and Wales, or 26 per cent. of the total male prisoner population (based on those with known ethnic group); and  (b) 1,250 female ethnic minority prisoners or 29 per cent. of the total female prisoner population. The corresponding figures at the end of June 1997 were  (a) 10,587 male ethnic minority prisoners, or 18 per cent. and  (b) 659 female ethnic minority prisoners, or 25 per cent.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Prior to 2004 the 1991 census codes were used.

Prisons: Drugs

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will estimate the level of use of illegal drugs by prisoners in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: The best measure of drug misuse in prisons is the random mandatory drug testing programme. The percentage of prisoners testing positive under the programme in each of the last 10 financial years is detailed in the following table. The data illustrates the success of the National Offender Management Service's drug strategy for prisons. This strategy has three key elements:
	reducing supply, through security measures and drug testing programmes;
	reducing demand, through targeted interventions for low, moderate and severe drug-misusers; and
	establishing effective through-care links to ensure continuity of treatment post-release in order to safeguard the gains made in custody.
	The Government have recently commissioned a report on drug use in prisons and has accepted the recommendations.
	
		
			  Percentage of prisoners testing positive under the random mandatory drug testing programme in each of the last 10 financial years 
			   Positive rate (percentage) 
			 1998-99 18.1 
			 1999-2000 14.4 
			 2000-01 12.2 
			 2001-02 11.5 
			 2002-03 11.7 
			 2003-04 12.5 
			 2004-05 11.8 
			 2005-06 10.3 
			 2006-07 8.8 
			 2007-08 9.1 
			 2008-09 year to date (April to July 2008) 8.3

Homelessness

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methodology her Department uses to estimate the number of  (a) homeless people and  (b) rough sleepers.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is as follows.
	 Statutory Homelessness
	The Quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness is a National Statistics product. National Statistics is a quality marker applied to official statistics that meet the highest statistical standards, and means that statistics have been produced in accordance with the arrangements and professional standards set out in the Code of Practice and associated Protocols.
	Information about English local authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation is collected by Communities and Local Government, on the quarterly PIE housing return submitted by local housing authorities.
	Data submitted includes the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available, and the data submitted includes 'snapshot' information on the number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter. The PIE return does not include information on other forms of homelessness, for example rough sleeping.
	All PIE returns submitted by local housing authorities undergo thorough validation, and late returns are pursued to ensure that overall response is as complete and accurate as possible. Anomalous data is highlighted and verified by contacting the local authority.
	The data validation process typically takes around six weeks, after which estimates for missing data are calculated. The most recent published figures (January to March 2008) were based on full or partial returns from all 354 local authorities.
	Published national and regional figures may include estimates for a small amount of missing data from individual local authorities. These estimates are calculated using a procedure based on changes observed in similar authorities.
	Statutory homelessness statistics are published around 51 working days after the end of each quarter, on a pre-announced date in accordance with the National Statistics Code of Practice. The latest (12 June 2008) Release and previous editions are available both in the Library and via the CLG website. The next Release is due to be published on 11 September 2008.
	 Rough Sleepers
	Local authorities evaluate the extent of rough sleeping within their area in accordance with the methodology on street counts set out CLG's 'Guidance on evaluating the extent of rough sleeping2007 revision'. Street counts are used to establish a robust annual estimate of the number of people sleeping rough on any given night, based on the sum of counts in areas where a known or suspected rough sleeping problems has been identified.

Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average sale price was of the homes built in the former Deputy Prime Minister's Design to Build 60,000 home competition.

Caroline Flint: Construction of the homes on the 10 sites included in the Design for Manufacture competition is ongoing. However, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for North-East Milton Keynes (Mr. Lancaster) on 6 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1890W, the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 26 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 628-29W, and the hon. Member on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 851-52W.

Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1637W, on non-domestic rates: empty property, what the addresses were of the properties where the four possible incidents took place; who the owner of each of the properties was; and whether her Department has been notified of any further cases since 20 June.

John Healey: The Government have asked local authorities to provide information about how reforms to the empty property rate are working. The information provided on evasion of empty property rates will be based on the informed judgment of individual officers and is being gathered as a broad indicator of the scale of possible avoidance activity and there is no suggestion the activity in question is unlawful. This is not a detailed survey the Department has not collected the information requested. The Department has had further notifications and we will set out our general findings in due course.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes to projects funded by her Department have been made as a result of implementation of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Exemption of Certain Acquisitions of Residential Property) Regulations 2008.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Kitty Ussher) today. (PQ 223363).

Water Supply

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 392-3W, on water supply, what the evidential basis is for the establishment of  (a) the benchmark in the Code for Sustainable Homes of 80 litres of water per person per day at Level 5 and  (b) the proposed building regulation design performance standard of 125 litres per person per day; what estimate she has made of the number of homes expected to achieve each target by 2021; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Average water consumption levels, which provide the basis for the two efficiency levels, were developed from a series of studies by Government, the Environment Agency and Industry which indicated a current UK average water consumption of 153 litres per person per day. The three levels set in the code of 120, 105 and 80 litres per person per day were developed after various scenarios were tested by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to illustrate the levels which should be achievable using various different combinations of technologies and approaches. The calculation for the scenarios is based upon usage assumptions within the Code Water Calculator, developed by the Water Research Council (WRC). The exemplary Code level 5/6 standard is demanding and requires significant change to specifications of fixtures and fittings.
	The basis for the establishment of the 125 litres per person per day standard was the consultation undertaken by the Government in 2007 on water efficiency in new dwellings. Respondents strongly supported the introduction of a whole building performance standard within Building Regulations, which would allow flexibility in the choice of appliances, while still reducing water consumption. The 125 litres standard, which will be introduced through an amendment to Part G of the building regulation (Water Efficiency) in 2009, is in line with the Code Level 1/2 (120 litres per head per day) and uses a simplified version of the Code Water Calculator but includes a small allowance (five litres) for external water use.
	Building to the Code for Sustainable Home is not mandatory and the Government have made no assessment of the likely water efficiency levels of homes in 2021 as a result of its use. All new homes will need to meet the Part G water efficiency standard following its coming into force in 2009, subject to the relevant transitional arrangements.

Airports: Luggage

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  which UK airports restrict passengers to one item of carry-on baggage;
	(2)  which UK airports will not scan more than one item of carry-on baggage per passenger.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In November 2007, the Secretary of State announced that the Department for Transport would consider lifting the one-bag restriction from 7 January 2008 at UK airports where they were able to demonstrate to our satisfaction their ability to maintain security standards in the absence of the Government imposed restriction.
	At present there are only two airportsLuton and Liverpool John Lennonwhere the department has to date been unable to grant permission to lift the restriction. Officials are working closely with those airports with a view to being in a position to lift the restriction soon. Where the restriction has been lifted airports and their airlines may however continue to apply their own commercial policies on the number of bags that may be permitted.

Cycling: Safety Measures

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to promote the wearing of helmets by children whilst cycling; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Our road safety communications aimed at adults and children are taken forward through the THINK! road safety campaign. Our approach is informed by research evidence and casualty statistics, which have led us to focus the majority of our communications activity aimed at children on pedestrian safety.
	This has been delivered primarily through our Hedgehogs campaign (seewww.hedgehogs.gov.uk) and Arrive Alive (a Highway Code for young road users).
	Our most recent cycling helmet promotion has been with the music channel MTV where we launched an innovative Ad Idol competition focusing specifically on road safety. Here, we ran a competition to engage teenagers giving them the opportunity to create road safety adverts. The winning advert was aired on MTV channels to help build wider awareness of cycling safety.
	Currently we are developing a series of on-line films for a site called Videojug to provide best practise advice for parents on how to keep their children safe on the road, including a film about safety safe cycling which advices the wearing of cycling helmets. These films are due to give in September and October 2008.
	We shall continue to review our approaches going forward. Our aim is to continue to innovate and engage with children.

M25: Lighting

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effects of overhead lighting on road safety on the M25; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: When the M25 was originally constructed each section was assessed in accordance with the policy at that time and overhead lighting was implemented where it could be demonstrated to offer a cost effective safety feature.
	As sections of M25 are widened an assessment is made in accordance with current Highways Agency standards. New lighting may be installed if the detailed analysis indicates a high number of night time accidents. Current Agency standards assume that the introduction of overhead lighting should result in a reduction of night time accidents in the order of 10 per cent. A recent example of the installation of lighting is the widening of the M25 between junctions 1b and 3 which followed the assessment process in the standard at that time. Other recent assessments have been carried out for the proposed widening schemes on the M25 16-23 and 27-30.
	Audits are carried out 12 months after the installation of lighting and again after 36 months to review accident data and compare it against the data that supported the introduction of the scheme.

Sea Rescue: Hope Cove

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been assisted by the Hope Cove inshore lifeboat since 2000; how many boats have been towed by the lifeboat in that period; how many animals have been rescued by the lifeboat in that period; and how many times the boat has been launched in that period.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The incident data involving the Hope Cove general purpose boat from 2004 to present day is detailed as follows:
	
		
			   People rescued  People assisted  Boats towed  Animals rescued  Total callouts 
			 2004 2 5 2 2 5 
			 2005 2 8 1 0 8 
			 2006 0 1 0 0 7 
			 2007 2 3 2 0 6 
			 2008 0 1 0 0 2 
		
	
	The MCA changed the basis on which it collects incident information in 2004, when work began on setting up a more robust statistical database. Officials are currently interrogating the older, data sets from a pre-2004 database and I will write to the hon. Member with this further information as soon as it is available.

Offensive Weapons

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many offences were committed in each police command unit in Northern Ireland in which a knife was employed by the perpetrator in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The chief constable has provided the following answer:
	The following table details the number of offences committed in each police command unit in Northern Ireland in which a knife was employed by the perpetrator in each of the last three years:
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Antrim 31 16 35 
			 Ards 39 24 41 
			 Armagh 17 13 20 
			 Banbridge 8 8 14 
			 East Belfast 38 49 50 
			 North Belfast 173 127 122 
			 South Belfast 112 122 61 
			 West Belfast 112 75 69 
			 Ballymena 43 41 47 
			 Ballymoney 5 8 2 
			 Carrickfergus 13 8 34 
			 Coleraine 56 38 46 
			 Cookstown 2 4 9 
			 Craigavon 61 48 90 
			 Castlereagh 27 20 11 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 10 3 18 
			 Down 27 30 18 
			 Fermanagh 22 15 23 
			 Foyle 68 63 70 
			 Lame 14 16 17 
			 Limavady 22 12 45 
			 Lisburn 29 23 53 
			 Magherafelt 1 4 9 
			 Moyle 5 3 2 
			 Newtownabbey 67 55 88 
			 North Down 43 50 20 
			 Newry and Mourne 58 63 21 
			 Omagh 19 21 11 
			 Strabane 8 9 15 
			 Total 1130 968 1061 
		
	
	The figures relate to crimes where a knife was involved in the incident; the system does not record the detail of how the knife was used.
	A new crime record system, NICHE, was introduced on 1 April 2007. Under the old system, ISIS, the Modus Operandi would have been recorded as 'knife', with NICHE the MO would show 'instrument-knife/bladed'. Furthermore, within the new recording system, the instrument used is linked to an occurrence which may contain one or more crimes. This may lead to some inflation of offence levels from the NICHE system.

Offensive Weapons: Crimes of Violence

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many knife crimes were recorded in Northern Ireland in  (a) April 2007,  (b) May 2007,  (c) June 2007,  (d) April 2008,  (e) May 2008 and  (f) June 2008.

Paul Goggins: The chief constable has provided the following answer:
	The following table details the number of knife crimes that were recorded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in April, May and June 2007 and April, May and June 2008:
	
		
			   2007  2008 
			 April 67 83 
			 May 110 62 
			 June 63 98 
			 Total 240 243 
		
	
	The figures relate to crimes where a knife was involved in the incident; the system does not record the detail of how the knife was used.

Theft: Metals

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidences of theft of metals were recorded in each Police Service of Northern Ireland District Command Unit area in each of the last 12 months; how many successful prosecutions have been brought as a result; and what penalty was imposed in each case.

Paul Goggins: The chief constable has provided the following answer:
	The number of incidences of theft of metals which have been recorded in each of the PSNI district command unit areas for the period July 2007 to June 2008 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   2007 
			   July  August  September  October  November  December 
			 Antrim 0 1 1 1 0 0 
			 Ards 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Armagh 3 0 1 1 1 0 
			 Banbridge 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 East Belfast 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 North Belfast 0 0 1 3 0 1 
			 South Belfast 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 West Belfast 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Ballymena 2 0 0 2 1 2 
			 Ballymoney 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Carrickfergus 1 0 2 0 0 0 
			 Coleraine 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Cookstown 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Craigavon 1 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Castlereagh 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 2 0 1 2 0 0 
			 Down 0 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Fermanagh 1 5 2 9 9 10 
			 Foyle 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lame 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Limavady 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Lisburn 0 1 1 3 2 1 
			 Magherafelt 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Moyle 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Newtownabbey 0 0 0 1 1 0 
			 North Down 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Newry and Mourne 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Omagh 0 0 0 1 1 1 
			 Strabane 0 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Total 11 11 10 26 19 20 
		
	
	
		
			   2008  
			   January  February  March  April  May  June  Total 
			 Antrim 0 3 1 2 0 6 15 
			 Ards 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 
			 Armagh 2 1 2 1 2 8 22 
			 Banbridge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 East Belfast 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 North Belfast 2 3 5 0 4 6 25 
			 South Belfast 1 2 4 0 3 1 12 
			 West Belfast 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 
			 Ballymena 1 0 1 2 3 0 14 
			 Ballymoney 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Carrickfergus 0 1 0 0 0 2 6 
			 Coleraine 2 0 1 1 0 1 6 
			 Cookstown 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 
			 Craigavon 0 3 4 4 1 3 18 
			 Castlereagh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 0 1 1 1 1 2 11 
			 Down 0 0 0 1 3 2 9 
			 Fermanagh 3 4 3 1 5 3 55 
			 Foyle 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 
			 Lame 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Limavady 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 
			 Lisburn 2 3 6 6 0 7 32 
			 Magherafelt 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Moyle 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Newtownabbey 0 1 1 3 1 6 14 
			 North Down 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 
			 Newry and Mourne 0 1 3 1 0 2 8 
			 Omagh 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 
			 Strabane 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 
			 Total 18 25 35 25 25 55 280 
			  Notes : 1. Metals include aluminium, brass, copper, ferrous, lead non-ferrous and scrap. 2. As there is not a specific offence of theft of a metal, it is not possible to provide an answer to the other parts of this question